​Charles Gibson’s involvement with the Hopkins Center Graphic Design Studio spanned two decades– as assistant designer under Mark Friedman from 1972-1974 and as design director from 1979-1987. Responsibilities included: design and implementation of season brochures; posters for the performing arts, film society, and Artist-in-Residence Program; print advertising; lobby/kiosk displays; fundraising pieces; and special projects. Prior to the opening of the Hood Museum of Art in 1985, Charles Gibson also designed invitations, posters, and exhibition catalogs for the Center’s galleries.

The concepts in this selection of posters drove the creation of “hybrid” images that combine two or more image modes. For example, the “Music by Three” poster features a super-scaled numeral layered with a transparent textile invested with feminine overtones. In the poster for “The Master Builder”, Ibsen’s play demanded a concept that “pulled out all the stops”. Torn and cut forms, a period engraving, and a found texture are juxtaposed in a collage that communicates some of the play‘s psychological complexity

Each image mode plays an expressive role, both individually, and in synthesis with the other modes. While visual research can uncover a multitude of additional image-making techniques and hybridized permutations, the options shown in this group of posters are especially well suited to both the limitations and opportunities of the photosilkscreen medium.