Tobias Brauer

Northern Kentucky University knows how to make new faculty members feel welcome.

Every year the art department features the newest members of their staff by organizing an exhibition of their work.

Julie Mader-Meersman and Tobias Brauer, two new graphic design professors at NKU, will be showcased in the main gallery of the Fine Arts Building beginning Jan. 13.

A number of her works featured “have to do with books and the alphabet and communication at their core,” Mader-Meersman said. “They are not visually obvious, but that is the thread they have in common.”

“Biblioscape,” the largest piece in her exhibition measuring eight feet by six feet, is “comprised entirely of scrapped and garbage material that people leave behind in library books,” she said.

The garbage materials are objects such as notes, bookmarks or even gum wrappers, she said.

Brauer plans to show five pieces in the exhibition; three of which are typographic portraits of Brauer’s children

The children’s portraits are the ones he is most excited about, Brauer said. He “enjoys working with personal subject matter.”

Brauer also said he is challenging the notion of business typography by “creating designs that also function as pieces of fine art.”

Brauer said he hopes when people view his works “they will appreciate the intricacies of the typographic forms and not just see type as words, but instead as images.”

The works will be on display until Feb. 4 in the main gallery. It is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Mader-Meersman, earned her bachelor’s degree at NKU in graphic design and obtained her MFA in graphic design at the University of Washington.

Brauer graduated from The Art Academy of Cincinnati with a BFA in communication arts, and the University of Cincinnati, from its School of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning.