Sticks And Stones

Newswise — A graphic design project to examine labeling and stereotypes has grown into an international model on messaging and tolerance. UAB art professor Audra Buck, M.F.A., conceived the "Sticks & Stones" project with Pamela Beverly of Weber State University, Ogden, Utah. Their students created self-"portraits" using poetry, photos, texts and images, then exchanged them by mail, each portrait assigned labels such as "frustrated" or "jock." Later, they met in Los Angeles to reveal and discuss the portraits. "Through the project, design students gain real-world awareness about the messages they create and the impact those messages have." The program repeats in China and Jerusalem in 2008, and a show is in the works for this summer at Birmingham's famed Civil Rights Institute.