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John McVey, curriculum vitae

John L. McVey

Assistant Professor, Graphic Design

Montserrat College of Art

23 Essex Street, Beverly Massachusetts 01915

978 921 4242 x1243 (but home phone more dependable)

47 Vassal Lane No. 2

Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

617 661 4276

Education

MFA (design), Massachusetts College of Art, 1993

MA (South & Southeast Asian Studies: Malay/Indonesian Language & Literature), UC Berkeley, 1982

AB (English), UC Berkeley, 1977

Research activity

telegraphic codes and message practice, 1870-1945;

printing and “photo” telegraphy;

asphalt, hygiene, and civil engineer and essayist P. J. M. Larrañaga;

manuscript index rerum (commonplace books); and

a critical appraisal of the writing of Ladislav Sutnar and K. Lönberg-Holm, including their Catalog Design Progress (1950)

Teaching and professional

Montserrat College of Art (Beverly, Mass; 1995-present) – Full-time instructor in graphic design since 1996; Assistant Professor since May 1998; Department Chair 1997-2002.

courses taught : Intro Graphic Design; Graphic Design 1 and 3; Typography 1 and 2; Web Authoring 1 and 2; (co-taught Quantitative Reasoning, Science and Design); Materiality of the Book; Color Design and Communication; Senior Design Seminar

also taught design courses at Massachusetts College of Art (Boston, Mass) and Middlesex Community College (Bedford, Mass) - 1993-1995. Lectures, workshops at Art Institute of Boston (Fall 04), Rhode Island School of Design (Fall 04), Istanbul Bilgi University (May 04). Co-organized a private seminar on ornament (Summer 2001).

business writing and editing, Tokyo (1983-88, at AIA, Inc. and Nomura Securities)

occasional freelance and volunteer design and editorial work for business and other clients in Boston area, and in Tokyo

Publications, conference papers

“Thesauruses, codes and mundane telegraphy 1870-1930.” Paper presented at 2005 Annual Conference, Society for the History of Technology (Minneapolis, 3-6 November 2005)

“Elementary Types : Not-so dead-end ideas in telegraphic printing of letters and pictures, 1900-1925.” Paper presented at Temporary Type Conference, St Bride Library (London, 10-12 October 2005); on elemental types for “facsimile” telegraphy and for letterform generation in printing telegraphy (

“The Tables.” In News of the Whirled 4 (2004)

“Kalkzeep / There is a perfect understanding : Telegraphic clarity and Gertrude Stein’s writing ‘clear as mud’.” Paper presented at Northeast Modern Language Association annual conference (Boston, March 2003)

Mutilation Odes (out of print; self-published poetry), Aguanga Press, 2001

Exhibitions

curator, “Telegraphic Codes and Message Practice in Harvard’s Libraries and Archives — An Interpretive Exhibition.” Cabot Library, Harvard University, January – May 2006.

“Difference.” Exhibited in Outside In, curated by Maya Drozdz (traveling show, 2004-05);

“8 o’clock.” Exhibited in 12 Hours, curated by Blyth Hazen and Caroline Bagenal (Studio Soto, Boston, 2004);

“Emblemata Ambulare.” MFA thesis work, exhibited in Claims show, Massachusetts College of Art, May 2003;

Grants

travel to Collections Award, Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution ($912, for visit during January 21 through January 31, 2003)

Service

co-chair for education, AIGA Boston chapter (1998-2000); participated in organization of educator discussion meetings, and of the conference “Reexamining the Core Curriculum in Graphic Design Education” (at University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, April 2000)

service on Library, Curriculum, Technology and Faculty Affairs committees at Montserrat College of Art. initiated the College’s website in 1997-98. also helped to establish the College’s letterpress studio and Imposition Press.

created and maintained website for Graham & Parks Alternative Public School (Cambridge Mass, at 2002-05)

12 Nov 2005