In Concert Catalogue

TEUCER
WILSON
When I was first approached to
submit my ideas for this exhibition, I
was excited to think about music and
its relationship with lettering. Like music,
calligraphy and the art of drawing
letterforms is very much about rhythm,
flow, composition, light and dark, and
counterpoint. The spaces between letters,
like the pauses between notes
in music, are as important as the
letters themselves.
I am a big fan of jazz, blues, world music
and folk music. I started to think about
the roots of folksong from Afro-
American work songs and field hollers,
through to blues, jazz and ultimately
to rock and roll and modern music. I
was drawn to one of my favourite songs
The Parting Glass, which I first heard
by Robin Williamson, and The Voice
Squad (the best version there is). The
song is a traditional Scottish ‘broadside’
(no not Adnams!) ballad. It was sung
often at the end of a gathering, a parting
song. It appears in Irish folk music, and
was even recorded by a local lad from
Framlingham called Ed Sheeran.
Next, I thought what am I going to
design here? What material shall I use?
I liked the idea of using something quite
modern and ‘cutting edge’ for this as it
contrasted with the old ‘folksy-wolksy’
vibe of the song. Using stainless steel
brought in the theme of reflection, of
seeing ourselves reflected in the piece,
contemplating our own relationship
with the words.
The design process was perhaps more
involved than you may imagine. I have
designed several true-type fonts that
can be typed out and used in my design
work. The first stage was to create a
layout that worked, and within the 500
x 700mm format. I wanted the letters
to be knitted together to create a sense
of rhythm and texture. Next, all the
letters were converted into a single vector
layer or series of digital paths. These
are then tweaked for what seems like
an eternity, rounding off junctions and
generally trying to make a more abstract
design while not completely distorting
the shapes and rendering it an
illegible shambles.
The Parting Glass
laser cut stainless steel
500 x 700 mm
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