The Mysterious Case of the Shapeshifting Poblano Blackletter

There is an unspoken tradition of letter-making in the streets of Puebla and other Mexican cities. It emanates from multi-generational sign painters who invented styles that cross traditional categorization, combining the shapes that appear in lettering manuals, vice royal documents, and a free interpretation of blackletter in an unapologetic need for self-expression. In this lecture, we will explore some details of what we can call the “post-modern Mexican blackletter hand” in a colorful collection of Poblano blackletter.

Letterform Lectures are a public aspect of the Type West postgraduate program. The series is co-presented by the San Francisco Public Library, where events are free and open to all.