86 Bad Vibes: TXTS in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

86 Bad Vibes: TXTS in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

Prints and Drawings by Breanne Trammell
Dates: 
Monday, October 3, 2016 to Friday, November 4, 2016

86 Bad Vibes (TXTS in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction) features a collection of letterpress prints and drawings. “86” is a back-of-house term in restaurant culture, a way of communicating that the kitchen has run out of a certain ingredient or dish. Born out of her past experience working in food service, Trammell has adopted 86 BAD VIBES as a personal mantra for daily life. 

Participation in social media is an extension of Trammell’s art practice. Trammell counters the immediacy and temporary nature of social media platforms like Twitter and Snapchat by reproducing these social shares in slow or painstakingly technical media like drawing and letterpress printing. TXTS in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction is an ongoing series of prints that sources texts from Trammell’s Twitter archive (@breanne). A decade-long Twitter user, Trammell’s entries contain notes to self, dumb jokes & puns, celebrity sightings, fake celebrity sightings, bird sightings, and more. This project filters and transforms these digital entries into tangible objects through letterpress printing. Each print is characterized by a different ink color, typeface, and paper choice; the resulting effort of time, uniqueness, and tactility of each print alter how these quick communications resonate with readers. Trammell was a resident in 2015, and is currently Assistant Professor of Print Media at Kent State University in Kent, OH.