New Work: ‘The Value of Water’
In response to the global need for fresh water and the imperative of water conservation initiatives, The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine has mounted a new water-centric art exhibition, The Value of Water: Sustaining a Green Planet. The show is a reaction to the urgent need for social change that will strengthen the awareness of the planet-wide water crisis.
Pentagram’s Michael Bierut and Katie Barcelona, who created the Cathedral’s current identity, were asked to design the identity for the exhibition. The team has rendered the exhibition title in a liquid version of the custom typeface created for the Cathedral, based on Frederic Goudy’s 1928 Blackletter.
The Value of Water exhibition, guest curated by Fredericka Foster, features paintings, sculptures and various media depicting, reflecting and engaging with water. Forty contemporary artists, including William Kentridge, Kiki Smith, Bill Viola, Pat Steir, and Gregory Amenoff, were invited to contribute work to the show. The Cathedral is also implementing related programming, including poetry, music, drama, and discussions with artists, activists and scholars, for the duration of the exhibition. The Value of Water: Sustaining a Green Planet will be on view until March 25th, 2012.
Project Team: Michael Bierut, partner-in-charge and designer; Katie Barcelona and Krista Reeder, designers.