Buies Creek, N.C.-Although religion is often central to the work of Campbell University alumnus Derek Black (’02), he says his spiritual consciousness was not fully realized until after he left the university. Black’s work will be on display in the E.P. Sauls Gallery of Campbell’s Taylor Bott Rogers Fine Arts Center until March 26. Admission is free and open to the public.
Black, who operates his own typeface and graphic design company, TypeFarm, just outside Savannah, Ga., said looking back on his experience at Campbell made him sad because he didn’t take advantage of everything the university had to offer.
“Unfortunately when I arrived at Campbell, I was under the delusion that I was a Christian, but I really did not know what it meant to be to be a follower of Jesus Christ,” Black said. “Being naive in my faith, I was drawn into a lifestyle that, at the end of the road, left me a very messed up individual.”
A few years back, Black started reading his Bible and listening to Ray Comfort’s “Way of the Master” radio program, but it was his wife, Campbell graduate Kristen Hofmeier Black (’02), and her family that really influenced Black’s life the most.
“Besides giving me an outstanding education, God did use Campbell to bring me into contact with this amazing Christian family,” he said. “If it had not been for that education and the tools that my new family shared with me, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
One of the works on display, “The Glass Bible,” uses typography to engrave the original Greek text of Revelation onto a glass medium.
“The engraving onto glass represents the permanence and truth of the text,” said Black.
Black is in the process of launching a new typeface design he has developed. It should be released in late summer. He currently has several other typefaces in various stages of production.
Photo Copy: “The Glass Bible” is among the works by Campbell alumnus Derek Black now on display in the E.P. Sauls Gallery of the Taylor Bott Rogers Fine Arts Center.