In September 2024, Indigenous American artist Jeffrey Gibson launched a public art project across major U.S. cities, including numerous New York City landmarks. This initiative coincided with Climate Week and the artist’s representation of the United States at the Venice Biennale.
The project centered on the artist’s signature style: vibrant color and typographic engagement. We began by translating twenty radial color gradient sketches made by the artist into continuously looping background animations, forming the visual foundation for the projections. These dynamic backdrops were designed to host the artist’s original poem, “The Spirits Are Laughing,” a dialogue between five anthropomorphized entities: The Animals, The Sky, The Land, The Water, and The People. This poem served to underscore the vitality of nature and the urgency of addressing climate change.
The project centered on the artist’s signature style: vibrant color and typographic engagement. We began by translating twenty radial color gradient sketches made by the artist into continuously looping background animations, forming the visual foundation for the projections. These dynamic backdrops were designed to host the artist’s original poem, “The Spirits Are Laughing,” a dialogue between five anthropomorphized entities: The Animals, The Sky, The Land, The Water, and The People. This poem served to underscore the vitality of nature and the urgency of addressing climate change.
Initially, we considered using the artist’s own handwriting in the animations. However, prioritizing broad legibility, decided instead to use a sans-serif typeface the artist himself designed. This typeface was rendered in
high-contrast white text, with the speaker's name consistently positioned at the top, and their respective lines gracefully fading in and out below. An additional subtle "wiggling" animation was integrated into the text to imbue the words with a sense of constant movement and vitality, reflecting the living essence of each speaker.
Further enhancing the visual narrative, five of Gibson's original patterns were subtly incorporated into the background. We meticulously converted these designs into Illustrator vectors and then After Effects masks, overlaying them onto the animations with a slight delay. This technique ensured that the colors remained rich and the patterns emerged as a delicate, yet impactful, layer of contrast. The project demanded meticulous optimization for diverse display resolutions and animation durations, requiring careful calibration of text and background transitions to maintain optimal readability. Despite the demanding three-week timeline, the collaborative effort culminated in a successful and impactful public art installation, garnering significant press coverage from publications such as Hyperallergic and Artsy.
Further enhancing the visual narrative, five of Gibson's original patterns were subtly incorporated into the background. We meticulously converted these designs into Illustrator vectors and then After Effects masks, overlaying them onto the animations with a slight delay. This technique ensured that the colors remained rich and the patterns emerged as a delicate, yet impactful, layer of contrast. The project demanded meticulous optimization for diverse display resolutions and animation durations, requiring careful calibration of text and background transitions to maintain optimal readability. Despite the demanding three-week timeline, the collaborative effort culminated in a successful and impactful public art installation, garnering significant press coverage from publications such as Hyperallergic and Artsy.