Ben Blount is a Detroit born graphic designer and letterpress printer that loves books, type, and putting ink on paper. His work often explores questions of race and identity and the stories we tell ourselves about living in America. He is a believer in the power of the printed word and has taught workshops at places like The Cleveland Institute of Art, Florida Atlantic University, and Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum. Ben learned a lot about design at Washington University in St. Louis, a lot about printing at Columbia College Chicago, and filled in the gaps with mentors and lots of practice. He currently prints at MAKE, his storefront studio in Evanston, IL.
Ben Blount, Evanston, IL, A Recipe for Good Trouble Letterpress
When I think of A Dream Deferred, I think of the many people throughout history that have pushed, and fought, and died in the pursuit of Black people’s freedom. John Lewis exemplifies the courage, perseverance, and spirit of hope of a generation of young people that organized for civil rights in the 1960s. This print references the now iconic outfit Lewis wore when he put his body and life on the line in the March from Selma to Montgomery across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965.
