Date of Award

2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Carrasco, Magdalena

Area of Concentration

Art History

Abstract

Sheila Levrant de Bretteville is an underrecognized graphic designer, artist, educator, and activist. The thesis statement of this paper originally focused on the impact a graphic designer can have on their audience through an exploration of her work. It has expanded to include recognition that graphic design can not only have a positive influence on its viewers, but it can be art, as well. This thesis developed through copious amounts of reading and research, often utilizing primary sources and forays into parallel topics, including the literature of the mid-century women’s movement and early feminist art history. There is not an extensive amount of scholarship on the history of graphic design, nor on less prominent members of the 1970s women’s movement. Feminist celebrities like Judy Chicago, one of Levrant de Bretteville’s peers, were more often the focus of attention, attracting public recognition and scrutiny, while others worked in relative anonymity. Both play a key role in any activist movement. This thesis shines a light on the importance of those who work in supportive roles. From Levrant de Bretteville' early life as the child of first-generation immigrans in Brooklyn, New York, through a major shift in her worldview, to her current position as the head of the graphic design graduate program at Yale University School of Art, this thesis traces the concepts and inspirations which, in combination with her formal training, led Levrant de Bretteville to develop her signature, post-modern style. This thesis focuses on the development period of that style, which she referred to at the time as feminist design, by exploring works from her portfolio from the late 1960s through the late 1970s. Levrant de Bretteville's design are artistic, political, informative, and even commercial, all at the same time. She has proven that it is possible not only to advertise without pandering, but to create art and actively make a community better through graphic design.

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