Boisterous, busy and often emotionally raw, the text-based work of BFA Design faculty member and SVA alumnus Timothy Goodman (BFA 2007 Graphic Design) reflects the mind and milieu of its maker, bringing to audiences the world over a glimpse of the chaos and creativity that defines Goodman's life as an artist in New York City. Teeming with words and images, Goodman's murals in particular convey the energy that drew him to New York as an SVA undergrad and kept him here, making him an ideal candidate for this year's alumni exhibition, "Street Smart: The Intersection of Art and Design in the City," currently on view at the SVA Chelsea Gallery, 601 West 26th Street, 15th floor. A reception for the exhibition and its artists will be held at the gallery on Thursday, November 30, from 6:00 to 8:00pm.
As Goodman relates in the "Street Smart" catalog, "In my third year, [BFA Design Chair] Richard Wilde told me something I never stopped thinking about. He said, 'You can worry about fitting into the industry or you can invent who you want to be.'" And invent Goodman has. His drawings and words—rendered in pen, paint or tape—have appeared on walls, clothing, cars, packaging, book jackets, magazine covers and in galleries worldwide. His clients have included Google, Samsung, Uniqlo, Target, Airbnb, The New Yorker and The New York Times. Goodman's work is as recognizable for its formal playfulness and interlocking arrangements of letterforms and doodles as it is for a willingness to talk about his feelings. He's the co-creator of the blog and book 40 Days of Dating, and the social experiment 12 Kinds of Kindness, and has taken to Instagram with Instatherapy, a series of hand-drawn texts that explore the depths of his emotional life, cheekily touching on romance, career advice and the ways of the world today.
Goodman created a new mural specially for "Street Smart," once again adapting the language of street art and hand-painted lettering to send a message suited to our current socio-political moment and to the city itself. "I feel like everyone is someone here, in some way, and I like that," he says. "It's all about legacy in the end. It sounds silly, but if you make work in the face of your own death, how does that perspective change the way you approach things? New York is completely unique, and it's also completely ubiquitous because you see it everywhere. People are no different. So what stories are you passing down? What lineage are you leaving? How are you affecting things, both big and small?"
Goodman took some time during the mural installation process at the gallery earlier this month—as seen in the video below—to answer some questions about his inspirations and process.

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