________ Was Here!

This exhibit focuses on the printed names seen on sidewalks, desks, walls, and anywhere and everywhere else. The exhibit is designed to take a closer look at the nuances of these names—the reasoning behind their placement, their functionality—and examine how and why people are so inclined to mark their names anywhere at all.

This exhibit will also highlight paired couple names and initials, marking their significance as tools for permanent (or semi-permanent, depending on where the couple decided to place their names) expressions of love.

The action of tagging names can also be viewed as a way of marking presence or ownership, and both ideas are emphasized within this exhibit. These concepts, along with legality, all factor into the effect name-writing has on those who participate and studying them helps to understand why name-writing is so common and so overlooked as significant instances of everyday writing.