He started out as a cartoonist and magazine editor in Japan, he taught type in Qatar, he's made films  --- Erik Brandt has filtered his experience through the lenses of multiple cultures. Perhaps that's why he's particularly skilled at work that is a "slow read" . . . work that invites participation in the form of translation . . . work that is comfortable placing its viewer out of context, away from home.

Produced in conjunction with the Face the Nation show (also at Minnesota Center for Book Arts) which explores national identity and typography, Brandt's show of serious play along the ragged border-zones of communication adds a contemporary dimension to the theory discussed downstairs in Face the Nation. (Kudos to MCBA for this trio of shows!)

Brandt's work crowds you like a Tokyo subway, and it often rewards your patience with sensitivity that goes beyond the styles-in-a-blender surface. He loves the voyage of the slow read . . . and so do I.