Student Combines Passion For Painting And Graphic Art
Into Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Poster
December 7, 2000
University Park, Pa. – Li Lam’s earliest recollection of a budding artistic talent involved splashing a paintbrush across a blank page, creating images limited only by the imagination of a grammar school dreamer.

It was a love she carried with her throughout her childhood near Biloxi, Mississippi, honed during her teenage years, and adapted as she entered college.

"I used to paint quite a bit," says Lam, now a senior in Penn State’s graphic design program and far removed from her primitive childhood easel. "Painting is more intuition. Graphic art is more rationale and reason. It’s a problem-solving process."

When the University’s Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration committee again called upon Lanny Sommese’s graphic design class to come up with posters to portray the theme of next January’s program, Lam saw an opportunity to combine her passion of the past with her skills of the present.

The result was the overwhelming choice by the committee to provide the image that will be attached to the commemoration through numerous posters, flyers, and buttons that will be appearing across campus in the coming weeks.

The design features a black and white silhouette of marchers depicted in the familiar civil rights era photograph by James Karales. Above the stark image is a vibrant watercolor rainbow set against a purple-gray sky and descending into an American flag carried by one of the marchers in the photo image.

"The rainbow was in my head from the very beginning," said Lam. "The theme ‘Overcoming the Barriers, Fulfilling the Promise’ just made me instantly think of a rainbow – particularly the last word, promise."

The creation of this work involved photocopying Karales’ photograph five times to darkly contrast the marchers from the background. The image was then scanned into a computer, where it was touched up and combined with the painted sky and arching colors.

Particularly challenging for Lam and other students in the class was creating an image that not only gives a face to the theme but is both eye-catching and can be printed in several sizes.

The array of skill used in the production of this photo should serve Lam well as she prepares to pursue a professional career in the arts. Ideally, she would like to explore all aspects of the art profession through a job with a full-working design firm, creating posters, brochures, compact disc covers, and a variety of other visual products.

The annual Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration at University Park will be held Jan. 12-21. The program will be highlighted by a student-sponsored day of service and community bell ringing ceremony beginning at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 15. For more information, check the program’s official Web site at http://www.equity.psu.edu/mlk.

Contact: Tysen Kendig, Department of Public Information, (814) 865-7517 or .