Star Dot Star is a collection of glyph-based art and design spanning over 150 years. Think typewriter art, teleprinter / RTTY art, ASCII, and concrete poetry. Reflecting various technological advancements and cultural contexts, these genres share a common lineage we can trace back at least to the calligrams found in the 9th century Aratea.
We also have some mid-century embroidery patterns, newspapers from the late 1800s, and hand-drawn works that blur the line between these and other genres. Selections from the archive are below; there’s a bunch more to scan–please reach out if you have access to an oversize scanner (large format).
-=-=={ ASCII }==-=-
-=-=={ Concrete Poetry }==-=-
-=-=={ Typewriter }==-=-
-=-=={ RTTY / Teleprinter }==-=-
-=-=={ Needlepoint }==-=-
-=-=={ The Rest }==-=-
OPEN is partnering with RISD’s Fleet Library and the Providence Public Library’s Special Collections department to present an exhibition in fall 2026. Stay Tuned!
