Underwood Noiseless c. 1922

Ever since I've started working on collages, I feel the impatient need for a manual typewriter. I've always loved using text in images, and nothing quite compares to the mark making of a typewriter's key stroke. After a quick internet search for a manual typewriter, I realized none would carry as much meaning as if I retrieved my grandfather's 1922 Underwood Noiseless from my parents' basement and refurbished it. My grandfather, Giuseppe Ferretti, was a mechanical man. As a young boy in Italy, he would scour the junk yards for bed springs, reconfigure them, and fix clocks with them. Later, he invented an instrument called the shovelene, a combination bass guitar, violin, and horn instrument. He invented contraptions for the kitchen, guillotine clam openers, spatulas out of stainless steel, napkin holders, so fixing his typewriter with a can of WD 40 seems quite appropriate. As far as typewritten text in collages, Ray Johnson's use of text and image fueled his Correspondence School, with his typewritten letters crossing into conceptual art. Now all I need to do is find a ribbon.

Rosalyn Drexler

A couple of years ago, PaceWildenstein Gallery had a Rosalyn Drexler collage show. The graphic images mixed painterly figures with expressionistic text, and the effect is electric. Drexler, working at the height of the Pop art movement, is also an accomplished playwright and novelist and gives new meaning to the inclusion of text in visual art.

Graffiti Art

Before Twitter and Facebook, there was graffiti. It told us who, what, and where. It was a shout out, a prayer, a protest, a hello, a wish, and a good-bye. An identity in spray paint, initials tossed up on the overpass, morphed into fine art thanks to the likes of Keith Haring. His images, now icons of an era, came to an end too soon. With his death at 31 due to complications from AIDS, Haring's graffiti art was the perfect egalitarian counterpoint to the corporate conservatism of Reagan's 1980s. Discovering a Haring in the subway, drawn in chalk on black paper before a new ad was posted, was like discovering a new form of life. And then came success. His images appeared on everything and everywhere, especially as he fueled the merchandise craze with his store, The Pop Shop. I even had a Haring-designed Swatch, the epitome of chic at the time. Today, incorporating graffiti text into an image brings a hard-edged energy to the most staid and established images. Before his death last year, Robert Rauschenberg's best piece in his 2008 show at PaceWildenstein Gallery is this print combining literature, photographs, and graffiti-like text. This graphic mixture is explosive.

Decor and Text

I've noticed a recent decorating trend-- the use of typeography. I suppose it caught my attention since I love the look of adding letters or words to an interior space. The first pic is in my office, a natural fit for incorporating letters into a space. I am not alone. In the span of two weeks I found images in Harper's Bazzar, Better Homes and Gardens, and the New York Times, all of which incorporated some snazzy letters into their eclectic design. A fun way to add a letter or two seems to be in a pillow. I thought this eye chart one from Heatherlins Home was a good option, even if you've got 20/20 vision.

100

"I'm very much a word person, so that's why typography for me is the obvious extension. It just makes my words visible"
-- Erik Spiekermann
I'm celebrating 100 entries with a tribute to text. With degrees in Art History and English Literature, I love when they are married through illuminated manuscripts, initial capitals, or even the perfect font. Edward Gorey, one of my favorite illustrators, has produced several alphabet books, not only creating ghoulish illustrations but his own handlettered font. Alphahouses, an alphabet book I wrote and illustrated, used alphabetic creatures entwined in their homes, each of which welcoming the reader with his own brand of hospitality.
There's a lot to be said for the perfect font. There are times when only an old-fashioned typewriter will do, while at other points, you know you need sans serif--- STAT! When Bouler Design Group first started, our graphic designer Maureen Mooney introduced us to the latest fonts around. We fell in love with Gill Sans and Futura Bold-- both very modern fonts which made a visual statement. For those who love fonts, I'm including a few sites to peruse: ilovetypography.com, welovetypography.com, and my fonts.
It's no coincidence that the look of the typesetting has a huge influence on the overall impact on the text's meaning.