Uck N Pretty
Artist
Rick Valicenti
United States, born 1951
Date1992
Dimensions23 3/8 x 16 1/2 in. (59.4 x 41.9 cm)
ClassificationsPoster
Credit LinePoster House Permanent Collection
Object numberPH.7566
DescriptionThe inspiration for Uck N Pretty came from fellow designer Jilly Simons’s accusation that with his typographic experiments, Rick Valicenti was “killing pretty.” Valicenti doubled down on this idea, producing a portfolio of letterpress collages with that “insult” as the title. Neville Brody saw the “Killing Pretty” series and asked Valicenti to design a typeface and poster for FUSE as part of the “Exuberance” issue. Once again, Valicenti collaged, drew, scanned, and digitized his imagery to create the typeface, simultaneously producing what he calls “a very ugly poster.” The typeface is meant to embody the “modern- post-modern, pre-millenium, early-paradigm shift world” of the early ’90s, with the intention that users could drag and distort each letterform as needed to best express their message. The text on the poster reads “Don’t Kill Pretty,” with Valicenti’s name in the circle at the lower left. The image also appeared in the April 1993 issue of Esquire magazine.On View
Not on view
