Building Optimism: Public Space in South America

“Everybody has their own America, and then they have the pieces of a fantasy America that they think is out there but they can’t see.” —Andy Warhol

For the exhibition Fantasy America, I worked closely with José Carlos Diaz, Chief Curator at The Andy Warhol Museum, on the development, design, and production of all didactic texts and object labels for the galleries as well as the show’s catalogue. Taking its name from Warhol’s seminal publication America (1985), artists Nona Faustine, Kambui Olujimi, Pacifico Silano, Naama Tsabar, and Chloe Wise revisited the work through their own practices, offering a fresh and incisive portrait of American life in a moment of political and social reckoning.

Originally published in 1985, Warhol’s America features photographs both taken and collected by the artist during his cross-country travels and in-person encounters over the previous decade. Inspired by the DIY aesthetic of the book, which resembles a scrapbook or zine more than a finely polished monograph, we decided the catalogue would embrace that same spirit and guide the overall look and feel of the exhibition. We found excellent design collaborators in Elana Schlenker, Élise Rigollet, Jordi Ng, and Mimi Jiao of Studio Elana Schlenker.

Along with a bold color palette chosen by Diaz and Schlenker, the hand-rendered lettering created by Wei Huang helped anchor and guide the aesthetics of both the book and exhibition—helping us to create a museum publication with a DIY, zine-like feel and a lively gallery space filled with brilliant color.

Working alongside Diaz and Danielle Linzer, the museum’s Director of Education, I helped devise interpretive strategies that guided how the didactic texts and object labels for the exhibition would be crafted—from smart and accessible language devoid of artspeak to short and concise word counts. In addition to project-managing all editorial and design elements, I edited all in-gallery texts. Included below is a closer look at the book and exhibition.