Maine Perspectives

August 5th–October 8, 2022
Portland Public Library, Lower Level
5 Monument Square, Portland, ME

This show represents a range of work by designers and sponsors artists working in Maine. Through the visual medium of the poster, they share stories about Maine—stories of place, culture, style, community, nature, and identity. The work showcases a wide range of styles rooted in the diverse viewpoints of our participants, coming together around a consistent canvas size and thematic focus.

Maine Perspectives was organized by the Maine Chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA,) a national organization with the mission of advancing design as a professional craft, strategic advantage, and vital cultural force. AIGA Maine is one of 70 chapters focused on supporting the field of graphic design.

Thank you to the Portland Public Library for providing the space to display this great work, as well as all of the talented contributors who made this exhibit come to life.

Poster Gallery

Click on images to view larger versions.

welcoME

Lee John Cutrone
VIA

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Focusing on the start of Portland’s Arts District, welcoME mixes photography overlaid with abstract shapes to highlight everything that drew me to Maine; the opportunity to spread my creative wings in a city that, even in its most urban areas, carries with it the calm presence of pine tree forests and amazing coastline sunrises.

Winding Down

Ron Harrity
Ethos

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Collaboration between Ethos Art Director Ron Harrity and Writer Cory Schnaible.

We Got This

Ryan Adams

Surfing ME: a cold but warm hug

Pam Chévez

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Learning to surf in Maine made me feel welcome after moving from Mexico into a place I first perceived as cold and hard to relate to. But now I feel like home, surrounded by wonderful roses I get to call family and friends.

Hope

Kifah Abdulla

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The poster is a modern design for the word “hope” in abstracted Arabic calligraphy. I would like to express my experience in my new home—Maine—with this word. It is a living hope: hope of a better day, hope for safety and peace, hope for a better tomorrow. I see hope in people’s eyes, children’s laughter, women’s smiles, in community work together towards a better future, and in an exquisite nature.

The Divers

Liz Long
Liz Long Illustration

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Watching coastal birds dive into ocean water at twilight is my favorite part of living in Maine. I often wonder what they see as they repeat this act and have imagined myself diving alongside them.

The Way Life Should Be

Alexandra Norman
Girl that Designs

Short Season

Matthew Poor
Questex LLC

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In Maine the sailing season is very short, so I find myself thinking about, planning to, and waiting to sail; then we sail all summer, fall arrives and the cycle repeats.

Maine Coast Lobster

Kenneth Murphy
Murphy Empire Design

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Maine Coast Lobster is a tribute to the widely beloved American Lobster (Homarus americanus) and depicts an original painting of a cooked, idealized Maine-caught lobster from an atypical oblique perspective with classical inspired illustrations and hand-set typography.

The Fabric of Maine
is Changing

Kevin Kayne and the Blaze Partners Design Team
Blaze Partners

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The fabric of Maine—whether it’s the natural, demographic or business landscape—is continually changing. We wanted to demonstrate the volatility and excitement that comes with this change.

Untitled Page

Chas Appleby
Anchour

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As a studio, we discussed a number of ways we could approach the prompt. Ultimately, we felt our typographic approach told a much deeper story about what Maine means to each of us in comparison to something more graphic or illustrative. We pulled memories of all shapes and sizes from our team to fill the page. Read it like a poem or a stream of thought. Thanks for listening.

Unity in Diversity

Ebenezer Akakpo

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Each color panel represents a community or a culture in Maine. By layering all the different color panels, expressing from old to new on top of each other, we begin to experience the importance of being interdependent through the weaving structure to birth our beautiful world of Maine.

In Unity, we find diversity.

It is about time I learn to swim

Annie Lee-Zimerle

Next to the Water

Claire Christensen
Maine College of Art & Design

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Inspired by the ever-changing textures of beaches in Maine, this piece was created using photo collage, collagraph, drypoint, risograph printing, poem writing, and slight paper tearing.

Misfits Puzzle

Kalli Roebelen
Garrand Moehlenkamp

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Welcome to the Island of Misfit Creatives, where no one is perfect, and that’s exactly the way it’s supposed to be. This poster represents images of Maine cut out and composed to emulate the logo of Garrand Moehlenkamp. Each piece fitting together, but never in a way that’s complete in and of itself. Just like us, the whole is more than the sum of its parts, creating an impression of Maine that speaks to the ways we work together to support our communities, each other, and our goals for the future.

The Beginning of ME

Christopher Laryea
VIA

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My poster tells a brief story of my journey to Maine and what brought me there.

Upta Camp

Kanya Zillmer
Hills and Trails

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My poster is an illustration of a perfect summer day “upta camp” in midcoast Maine.

Brewing Something Special

Clayton Hoyle
SMCC

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This poster showcases a list of all the Maine brewing companies. Maine has one of the highest numbers of breweries per capita in the country.

Vacationland

Vicente Vasquez

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Maine truly is the great escape. I wanted to share my cheeky perspective of lobster dreams and packed bags ready for memories!

Birds of Paradise

Zenab Bastawala
Maine College of Art & Design

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The concept of the poster lies within the characters which are hand lettered with
flowers, leaves and birds. Botanical letters resembles the identity that Maine has left on me. The landscape is intricate and versatile, opens up to so many eye openings features of nature and habitat.

Surf’s up

Gabriel Guedelha
VIA

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A blend of my Brazilian roots with the place I now call home and one of my favorite things about it.

Maine Roots

Liza Kelley Sperry
Talley-O Design

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An unabridged history of Maine and our roots compiled from MBPN and the Maine Historical Society. Mixed media/photography and paper collage.

Big Blue Maine

Erin McGee Ferrell
UNE and artistamerican.com

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Research has shown Blue to be the World’s Favorite Color. Evidence Based Design indicates Blue reduces blood pressure. This work is based on Circles of Blue. Maine’s circles of lakes, clouds, Ocean buoys, and blueberries. Big Blue Maine. A place of life and an invitation for restoration.

The way life should be

Julie Mattei-Benn, Betsey
Shephard, Morgan Birtwell
L.L.Bean

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A celebration of all the summer outdoor activities that make this place the best place to be.

Picture Perfect

Pete Miller
Word from the Woods

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Maine is a novelty. The locals are the show and the tourists pay per view. The concept leans into the two worlds of the hardworking local and the big spending tourist, and how they come together in the bathtub known as Casco Bay.

An Invitation to Play

Amy Parker
Woods Creative

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Our Constitution is a living document to align us on the ambition of the United States. In this preamble symbolized as a piano, we reflect how our nation has rolled back rights and progress towards justice and equity for all who inhabit this country. We call on the state of Maine to perform with its talent of intellect, temperament of natural beauty and creativity of the doers who move us.

Sunday

Drew Hodges
Drew Design Co

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Maine is a mix of many things to me—accomplished people, beautiful nature, incredible artists, brilliant almost opaque light, a location within reach of my professional stomping ground–Broadway. And most of all a complete lack of pretension through all if it. It also has lots of things we need to work on. Acknowledged.

I chose this image because sailing is a new skill to me and pretty humbling for a grown man to learn in his 50’s. When I am sailing, it combines all those favorite things I mentioned in my first sentence, somehow all at once.

The image features my friends in a neighborhood race around Gay Island, all of us in Herreshof 12 1/2’s. And me in last place, but with the best view.