The work is a hand incised dictionary definition of a single word. The title refers to the amount of letters in the artwork and the a number of letters in the actual word they qualify. It comes from a series of pieces (in both print and incised lettering) I have been developing over the past few years. They present a single dictionary definition without qualifying which word the text refers to.
It slows the audience down, presenting a problem to solve, to reflect not only on language but also interpretation, tone and form. Today more so than ever before we publish vast quantities of textual information without hardly any consideration for its true meaning or voice. The origins of our language come out of our multicultural heritage – Latin, Scandinavian, Germanic, French and far beyond.
In this instance the word is ‘realism’ – Accepting the situation for what it is – or not?
Carl’s background in graphic arts, conditions his work, resonating between language, communication and form. The physical act of making is at the centre of what he does – printing, letter cutting and writing are as important to his creative process as the artefacts themselves.
“When I first became attracted to the idea of becoming an artist, painting was the last method I considered embracing. From my perspective it was almost obsolete, an archaic form of communication. I felt newspapers, magazines, books, words, to be more meaningful – the record of thoughts and discussions transposed onto manuscript have always been a principle inspiration to me.”
Carl’s work spans the permanence of stone and fragility of paper. His work is held in a number of collections including The National Print Museum (Dublin), San Francisco Centre for the Book (USA), The Danish Museum of Media (Odense) and The Hague Public Library (Holland). He lives and works in Somerset and has both a design and print workshop in the rural village of Milverton.
Size: 600 x 600mm
Medium: hand incised lettering / mixed media on composite board (18mm MDF)
Artist’s Email: carlmiddleton@neatdesign.org