Dennitza Gabrakova Talk: The Ecology of Graphic Design

Dennitza Gabrakova is Senior Lecturer in the Japanese School of Languages and Cultures at the Victoria University of Wellington.

Summary: In this talk I would like to probe into the philosophical dimension of the work of one of Japan's leading graphic designers, Toda Tsutomu. I would like to situate the practice of graphic design beyond the realm of publishing and advertisement and within the ecology of ideas of the 1980s Japan. I would like to address Toda's profound engagement with visuality as reflected in his work with the notions of shadow and light.

The photo shows also the cover of her recent book "The Unnamable Archipelago: Insular Readings in Postwar Japanese Literature and Thought (Brill's Japanese Studies Library)".