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D.E.N Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, United States
Date: 17 November 2011
Transit
Opening hours:
Tuesday - Friday: 11am until 5pm
Saturday - Monday by appointment
'This is too Tom and Jerry, it needs to be more Don Draper.'
Some revealing insight into the working methods of great typographers
Some Guy, the working name of San Francisco designer and illustrator Brian Singer, uses pre-printed books and pages to create his Works on Paper. Singer explores the printed word as a visual representation of information, attempting to uncover new meaning in what he believes is "slowly becoming an outdated form". His art ranges from intimate works on the pages of novels such as The Catcher In The Rye to large scale internet-based collaborative projects such as The 1000 Journals Project - inspired, he says, by "the feeling of isolation created by the internet".
Some Guy (Brian Singer), The Catcher in the Rye (2011)Whiting out nearly all the words on a page he singles out recurring or contrasting words and themes. "Crossing out the entirety of a written text while exposing only selected words changes the perception of the original message," Singer explains. "Revealing word frequency adds another layer and opens new paths to understanding." His ideas are most succinctly displayed in his piece Love, Evil, in which all the words within a very well worn copy of the King James Bible except those two are crossed out . Watch the video below to see the work in full.
Bullseye Triptych (top) meanwhile, is an extension of his Words On Paper series, created from 'lost dog' and 'garage sale' flyers stapled to telephone poles. "After years of weather, these community billboards become a rusting graveyard of events past," Singer says. "I remove the paper scraps and reassemble them into graphic structures inlaid with chaotic bits of image, typography, and rust."
He's also the founder of the 1000 Journals Project which launched in 2000 in which, he invited strangers to collaborate on illustrated diaries. The project spanned 40 countries, featured in a documentary and was exhibited at SFMOMA. 1000 Journals Project is on show again in 2012 at Scottsdale Public Art (March 1 until May 30).
Finally, Singer's Knowledge 172, Wrath 198 (2011) is on show at D.E.N. Contemporary Art in West Hollywood until December 23. It documents the 172 times 'knowledge', and the 198 times 'wrath' are mentioned in the bible. All other words are crossed out, prior to tearing and reassembling the pages.
Some Guy (Brian Singer), Knowledge 172, Wrath 198 (2011)Watch the video below to see Singer creating his piece The Catcher in the Rye at Monster Drawing Rally earlier this year.
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