My book is going to display, document, categorize and dismantle my collection of found images, found type is just as important so I figured this would be a useful exploration. I’ve collected junk for as long as I can remember, I come from a family of pack rats. I’ve hoarded action figures, dvd stickers, pens that no longer write, buttons, cuff links, paper scraps, plastic animals, those flattened pennies you get at theme parks, road signs, beer caps, fabric strips, twenty-five cent machine toys, etc. My most prized endeavor is my found image collection. Clips from a 1970’s National Geographic, old worn animal books, yellowed music sheets, religious monument postcards, several maps and map books, any neglected print out left in the labs, old paper, medical illustrations, rocks and gems, dinosaurs, airplane emergency pamphlets, etc. It saves so much time when I sit down to work, whether I use any of the images or not, it’s hard not to get inspired while looking through them because they were kept for their inspiration abilities in the first place.
I considered taking pictures solely of mailbox numbers as a branch off of this. While I was documenting I noticed how the numbers are what set them apart, what characterize them, because on most streets the mailboxes were all the same shape and size in black and white.
CARDS
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“It’s a place where someone might accidentally discover some other things, things that seem to have nothing to do with design” - Michael Beirut
That statement seemed to me to describe perfectly the world of commercial typography that I'd stumbled through with my camera. And by accident, although my original intent was to photograph aesthetically pleasing type, the more outlandish nonsensical bad type drew me in just as much. It's like graphic design outsider art.
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[the images are divided by location]
SCHOOL
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DOWNTOWN__________________________________________________________________________________
ST ARMAND'S__________________________________________________________________________________
the cropping of specific words within the larger texts create open messages and are particularly interesting in light of your discussion about bits and pieces of things. the great thing here is that fragments can be recomposed into new messages, new ideas.
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