UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Alumni Association is teaming up with the College of Arts and Architecture and Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts to bring Arts Festival visitors a unique new event honoring a designer with deep ties to the festival’s history — the late Lanny Sommese, world-renowned State College designer and Penn State distinguished professor emeritus.
The Hintz Family Alumni Center will be the site of “Hintzpiration: Artistry at the Alumni Center,” and will host an art exhibit July 12–13 featuring Sommese's work, titled “Sommese." The event, which will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, will showcase Sommese’s vast portfolio, including collectable posters from previous Arts Festivals and other personal works, some of which are included in the Library of Congress National Poster Collection. The exhibit was curated by Urszula Kulakowski and Kristin Sommese.
Sommese left an indelible legacy at Penn State, impacting generations of students who dreamed of following in his footstep, said Kristin Sommese, the artist’s wife and artistic partner.
“His students have gone on to influence and forge the direction of visual communication, graphic design, and advertising throughout the country,” Kristin said. “Many are celebrated creative directors, university design educators, and business owners, and his former students often attribute their success in no small part to the education they received at Penn State.”
Sommese’s Arts Festival posters, which often featured a jester, came to be a defining element for the event over the years. In 2018, Sommese’s daughter Saige began working with her father on the annual poster, and she has continued to create them in the years since his passing. This year’s poster, which for the first time depicts a female jester, holds a special meaning and reflects a special bond between a father and daughter.
“My mom — who also always contributed to the posters — and I always gave my dad flak for making the joker have a male-like appearance,” Saige said. “When I was asked to help him with the design in 2018, I stumbled upon an old drawing of a little girl in a party hat. For this year’s poster, we built upon that image, tweaked it a bit, and voilà, the first official female jester was created.”
The continuation of Lanny’s legacy with the Arts Festival through Saige’s work feels seamless, Saige said, perhaps because Saige had an impact on the festival’s poster designs starting in childhood.
“My dad would save a lot of my little kid drawings to use for inspiration, and encourage me to draw,” Saige said. “Many of his Arts Festival posters are whimsical and childlike in spirit, so I like to think I was contributing to the posters with my doodles.”
Visit the official 'Hintzpiration' website for additional details about the exhibit and the Alumni Association’s activities as the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts nears.