P2P Discussion – Annie Lee-Daly ’20 & Jaimey 정미 Shapey

As part of our P2P (Peer to Peer) student artist program, Montserrat Graduating Senior, Annie Lee-Daly ’20 had a conversation with Jaimey 정미 Shapey… 

Jaimey 정미 Shapey (she/her)
Type Designer, Graduate student at Cooper Union, based in NYC
CalArts ‘19

@jaimeyshapey on insta
@firstclassrice on twitter
https://jaimeyshapey.com/

Hello Postmodernism – 1980s Timeline

Annie Lee-Daly: What’s your morning routine for staying sane?

Jaime Shapey: I’m already crazy but I try to do the same thing every morning – brush my teeth, comb my hair, etc. People are saying to put jeans on but I don’t even wear jeans in the real world so I just make myself presentable to how I see fit. No makeup though. I try to make an effort to not sit in one place for too long, I just don’t want to be static. I also yell at my parents .

Break The Grid (and my spirit) – excerpt

ALD: What’s your quarantine snack?

JS: WATER. And the million Oreos I ordered.

ALD: Tell us about what you’ve been working on!

JS: A typeface inspired by Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, Corita Kent, etc. I suppose it’s pop-art expressionism. I’m going for very heavy mark making and brushstrokes while being ADA compliant for museums. I just think that the plain, sans-serif typefaces that are usually shown in tombstones don’t fit pop-art or abstract expressionist works.

Also, Oblique Strategies by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt.

Lexico Brand Manual

ALD: How has social distancing affected your work?

JS: Might sound weird but — not having eye contact. Its hard to get proper critique over video chat. When you’re in a call and someone says, “the upper left corner where the n meets the-” what the fuck is that? Having face to face contact is just better.

Since my work is based in history, not access to archives for research has been difficult. You get inspired in a different way when you hold objects in person versus seeing it online.

Los Angeles Plays Itself – A movie poster made for the documentary by Thom Andersen

ALD: What is motivating you right now?

JS: Just myself – same as before. This is a major setback but it doesn’t mean my work should plateau. I’m fortunate that I don’t *really* need a lab to work.

ALD: Do you feel any obligation to be *productive* during this time?

JS: I feel a personal obligation to but there shouldn’t be a global obligation to be. Artists are questioning their roles – either the fragility of their jobs or the real usefulness of it- uplifting people through art and music, etc.

ALD: What’s the first thing you’re going to do when this is over?
JS: I just wanna go somewhere warm and quite – the beach maybe.

Anime Expo Styleframes

 

Thank you Annie and Jaimey!