ACCESS AVAILABLE ON APRIL 22ND

Imported From Brooklyn is a story about finding the path to possible when you have more ambition than resources. The film celebrates world-renowned typographer and distinguished professor Antonio Di Spigna’s 50-year career working and teaching and graphic design. This origin story chronicles Tony’s humble beginnings as an Italian immigrant to Brooklyn in the sixties, follows his early years at New York City College of Technology, on to Pratt Institute, and ends with his lively career as a partner at the prestigious Lubalin Studio in Manhattan in the 1960s-70s.

This exhibit is a continuation of CUNY & CSUN’s collaboration to increase the variety of voices making a living with their imagination. The Art & Design Department within The Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication is proud to be the first to exhibit The Di Spigna Archive outside of the B.F.A. in Communication Design’s Grace Gallery in Brooklyn, NY. In this West Coast debut, Imported From Brooklyn will be on display virtually from April 22nd to May 20th and the physical collection will go on display at the University of Oregon before heading to its international debut in Tony’s hometown of Ischia, Italy.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Born in south Italy, and raised in south Brooklyn, Di Spigna was a student at City Tech (formerly New York City Community College) from 1962 to 1964, in the Commercial Art Program. After graduating and continuing his education at Pratt Institute, Di Spigna ascended to partner in the legendary Lubalin Associates studio where he worked on all aspects of visual communication and graphic design. If you know of Herb Lubalin’s work, then you know Tony Di Spigna’s work. Di Spigna’s letterform and typographic style has been widely awarded, exhibited, and have achieved international acclaim.