Looking at Jerry Lewis at MoMA

Animated title wall and exhibition graphics designed by Eline Mul and Olya Domoradova for an exhibition at MoMA Museum of Modern Art about American comedian/actor/filmmaker Jerry Lewis.

Few stars from the golden age of Hollywood valued looking – and being looked at – more than Jerry Lewis (1926–2017) did. Having amassed years of stage experience before he emerged as a major film actor and director, he made acknowledging his audience an essential aspect of the “comedy of looks” that characterized his work. And in no other Lewis film is the experience of being seen so central as in The Nutty Professor (1963), in which he treats his audience as a main character.

With this premise in mind, we created an animation that contrasts slowed down footage from The Nutty Professor, where people stare at the main character’s transformed persona, with a blunt slapstick-like type treatment of MoMA Sans.

The stretched typography and big flashing arrow pointing down the stairs to the exhibition emphasize the comedic aspect of Jerry Lewis’ work. While stretching and squeezing, the exhibit title comes onto the screen and repeatedly pushes out the film footage.