Symbols and Semiotics

MFA 2D design student presents ‘PHASES’ 

Monica Lugo, a graduate student in the master of fine arts program, will be showcasing a collection of artwork in a series called “PHASES.” The virtual reception opens at 7 p.m. Monday via the UTRGV – Visual Arts Galleries’ Instagram page @utrgvgalleries. 

The series will be open to the public May 4 through August 18 at the Charles and Dorothy Clark Gallery inside of the Edinburg Liberal Arts Building South. 

Lugo earned her bachelor’s in graphic design at UTRGV in 2018. Her interest and pursuit in design propelled her to seek a graduate degree to continue as a candidate in graphic design and expand her work.

Elizabeth Berger, associate professor and program director for the graphic design department, said in an email that Lugo’s work stands out.

“She is a very strong MFA in graphic design candidate,” Berger said in the email. “We don’t have that many design students get their MFA, so she stands out and her work is about semiotics and typography.”

Lugo’s work encompasses new techniques in typography and image. She said her work is a type of  contemporary design.

“Definitely towards the contemporary typography movement,” Lugo said. “It’s definitely typographic design. I feel like that’s what I focus on the most because I do work with letters the most.”

Lugo gave insight on the meaning of her show’s name.

“The name of the show is called ‘PHASES’ and it’s  a play on the word ‘faces’ because you’re going to see typefaces, you’re going to see faces of people, and  you’re going to see  abstract symbols of emotional phases that a person can go through,” Lugo said in an email.

These signs are created to be interpreted through semiotics, which is the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation, according to the Oxford dictionary. Lugo said part of her work is to analyze how shape and color is interpreted by the viewer.

“To see how to utilize color and form, and type and image into different planes–some of them representational, some of them abstracted–but always keeping in mind, ‘How is the person going to interpret this?’” she said. “The interpretation usually stems from the cultural background of the person, the emotional memories that a person has with a specific message.”

There is a series in her show, titled “Primitive Series,” that displays emotions through colors and shapes. Lugo said they each have a designated emotion that is not disclosed to the public.

She created an Instagram poll with the series to see how people were interpreting the artwork. 

“A lot of them responded with the emotion that I had designated, but they didn’t know,” Lugo said. 

She said her work displays “signs” that are ultimately left to the viewer to interpret.

“The way I assemble those shapes, and the color, and the patterns of repetition, exude an emotion,” Lugo said. “So, whether you see the one that I designated or you create your own meaning, you’re still interpreting the sign. … The sign is there, but what is being signified is up to you to interpret it–that is where the semiotics come into play.”

Throughout her art show, “the eye” is a constant symbol she uses as a way to embody a piece of her culture. Lugo said it has always been around her.

“The eye is one little symbol and a little sign that is all throughout the show, and the reason why I chose this is because … I grew up seeing that little eye in my mom’s jewelry,” she said. “She always had the little eye, my aunts too, and when I started drawing, I would always draw eyes. … It’s like a cultural symbol that I grew up with.”

Lugo has used this cultural aspect and also reinterpreted it into a symbol to communicate a message.

“It’s that same symbol, but it’s now reinterpreted into a symbol of visual communication and a symbol that makes you immediately look at the work because [the eye is] looking back at you, so it’s like a way to engage the viewer really quickly,” she said. 

For Lugo, it has become a part of her signature.

“I’m reinterpreting the meaning, but it’s still a symbol that I associate with my culture, the way I grew up, but it’s now translating into the design that I make and kind of like … my signature,” she said.

Lugo intends to further her artistic style that has developed thoroughly through her MFA journey, as she discovered her voice.

“My MFA was about discovering who I am as a designer and my brand,” she said. “When people see my work, if they look at it, I want them to know ‘that’s Monica, I recognize that.’ I use a lot of color, geometric shapes, and bold saturated patterns, that’s how … my MFA really helped me to shape who I am, my style, my voice, and what I can do with that voice.”