The Work of Randall Hoyt randall@randallhoyt.com 203 444 2243
Meta Thesis
I spent 971 days in the Yale Graphic Design program. The majority of those days were centered around the pursuit of that ever-elusive Holy Grail, the Yale Graphic Design Thesis. Each student was encouraged to actively develop their own methodology, or ‘thesis lens,’ to filter their projects through. The Meta-Thesis became for me a vessel, that if I could find a way to carry its heavy weight, just might carry me too. To understand the Yale Design Thesis I documented the entire collection, over 500 books starting in 1951, and built a Thesis of Theses of which my own Meta Thesis was one. The atlas image embodies that concept of the self-including set. As a member of the set of all theses, my thesis was a part of itself initiating an infinite recursive loop of reference.
Inside the covers of Meta-Thesis, my ‘essay’ is a compilation of the first sentences of every thesis in chronological order. It is a literal cadavre exquis, which when read, is a schizophrenic monologue which connects every thesis preceding it into one continuous text. The red words light across the surface of the page and connect to reveal my personal commentary about the thesis and the larger program.
The meat of Meta-Thesis is the bibliography which presents in one experience, the breadth and range of the Yale Graphic Design program. The 200-page bibliography contains an image of the cover and inside spread of each and every thesis in the collection. I am presently working to have the Meta-Thesis published.
