Oh my goth, look at the new CBC Arts logo design
Illustrator Erica Young was inspired by Gothic architecture, tarot and the changing seasons
Every month, we feature a new take on the CBC Arts logo created by a Canadian artist. Check out our previous logos!
Maybe it's just a phase, but we love our new gothic makeover. CBC Arts' featured artist this month is Erica Young, a Toronto-based printmaker and illustrator who brings an analog approach to her digital work — including this logo design. "I'm always thinking of etching when doing line work, and riso inks when I'm choosing colours," says Young, and her favourite esthetics are older than old-school. For this assignment, Young was inspired by medieval art and architecture, and she told us more about the piece over email.
Name: Erica Young
Age: 30
Homebase: Toronto
Let's talk about your logo! What inspired the concept?
The shape of a stained-glass window was the first thing I thought of when I saw the blank outline of the CBC logo. I love Gothic architecture and I'd recently read Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth so that was really on my mind at the time. Stylistically I was looking at Ivan Bilibin's illustrations and some medieval prints, and just wanted to make the whole thing look kind of luminous.
The general theme was sort of the cycles of nature, which you can see in the summer and winter landscapes and the two figures representing day and night. I also drew upon tarot designs for some of the imagery like the cups and the figure with the sword. It felt fitting for a spooky October logo.
What sources do you often turn to for ideas and inspiration?
I've got a folder of images of prints that I've saved over the years. It's often a good jumping off point when I'm feeling stuck. I feel like I also get a lot of inspiration at my job as a production assistant at Colour Code Printing. They put out work by so many great artists, and seeing the ways in which other people use the medium is inspiring in a technical and logistic way.
What's new in your world? What are you working on these days?
I've always got a poster or two on the go, but right now I'm also working on a zine called Sea Mag about disasters at sea. It's a topic I'm really interested in and it'll be available online and at an arts market at Houndstooth on October 26.
I'm also trying to learn more about digital art mediums: 3D modelling, graphic design software, etc. I worked in only analog formats for a long time and am trying to figure out how to merge those two worlds.
What's the project you're most proud of?
The project I'm most proud of is a series of etchings, screen prints and sculptures about the Franklin Expedition and its relics titled Only the Object is Real. I completed it for my OCAD printmaking thesis in 2022 and hope to expand upon it in the future. I'd never done such a multimedia project before and had also never really worked in sculpture, so I feel like it really broadened my horizons. I also love having an opportunity to do a bunch of research and incorporate that into my work.
What's your favourite place to see art?
It would probably be a three-way tie between Xpace Cultural Centre, the Plumb and Hearth!
Who's the last artist you discovered online?
I think Hugo Bernier. I've been really into/impressed by airbrush art lately.
What work of art do you wish you owned?
I would love to own any of Bill Burns's paper models, but I would also be afraid of squishing them.
Are there any arts events on your radar this October? What are you excited to check out?
It's a different kind of art, but I'm really looking forward to seeing Hank Wood and the Hammerheads in Montreal. Also Carrier Bag Collective's show Carrier Shell at Spacemaker II!
Where can we see more from you?
On my Instagram (@ecfyoung) or my website erica-young.format.com.
This conversation has been edited and condensed.
