Typewriter as brush?
Talk about surprising!
Portrait by James Cook
“Each drawing is assembled from a variety of characters, letters, and punctuation marks using the forty-four keys of a typical typewriter. Information is overlaid and the keys are tapped at variable pressures to achieve tonal shading.”
~ James Cook
Royal Albert Hall
Plein Air Boat
Empire State Building
See
Although James Cook is attaining typewriter art mastery, he did not invent it. Believe it or not, there is a whole history of artists using the typewriter as an art medium. It began with a woman called Flora Fanny Stacy who started while she was a secretary in the 1800’s.
Butterfly, 1898 by Flora Fanny Stacy, (1845-1909)
Stacey’s typewriter, a Royal Bar Lock
As there is no record of typewriter art before 1898, Flora Fanny Stacey is considered the first typewriter artist. She was a highly successful teacher of typewriting and shorthand, as well as music, based mainly in the Earl’s Court area of London. (oztypewriter)
Paul Smith, (1921-2007)
James Cook’s inspiration and perhaps the best-known and most intriguing typewriter artist is Paul Smith (1921–2007). His severe spastic cerebral palsy from birth prevented him from ever learning to read or write, he required help with eating, dressing, and bathing, and had impaired speech. But at age 16, he discovered typing as a means of drawing. Though he couldn’t grasp a brush or pen, he could hit typewriter keys, holding his right hand down with his left so he could type with a single finger. With the shift key in lock, using a handful of symbols — @, #, $, %, ^, &, *, (, and ) — Smith went on to create nearly 400 typed artworks depicting animals, trains, still lifes, and war scenes, plus portraits of the Pope and Mother Teresa. Though he worked on a machine, his process was anything but mechanical. He came up with a shading technique, in which he’d press his thumb on the ribbon to apply ink to the drawings. He smeared ink with erasers and built up dark color blocks with repetitive keystrokes. (hyperallergic)
Say
The way that typewriter art is experienced depends on how close you are. As Seurat used optical mixing, these works seem to become clearer as you step away and are somehow just as impressive when you are up close.
"A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" -Georges Seurat
Do you think that Typewriter art was inspired by Pointillism founded by Georges Seurat in 1886? Why or Why not?
What other technologies can you think of that are used to create art?
I remember in computer class in the mid-1980s using code to create giant banners. (Pure magic!) What experiences do you have with creating pictures with technology?
Do
Commission a Drawing, or buy a print by James Cook
Watch this video about Paul Smith, an American born in 1921 with Cerebral Palsy, who was the first Typewriter artist and James Cook’s inspiration. Since Paul struck the first key on his typewriter in the mid-1930s, the way artists with disabilities create art has notably changed. What has not changed is the drive and willpower required to master a skill, and perform it well. For that, we remember the typewriter artist.
NBC Today Show Feature on James Cook
About James Cook
In the past nine years, James has produced more than 300 typewritten drawings. To produce his stunning artwork James has nearly 60 typewriters which have mostly been generously donated by fans of his work. Using typewriters, he has produced artwork for celebrities, television presenters, musicians, and corporations.
The scale of James Cook’s work ranges from the size of a postcard and the antithesis of this being rolls-upon-rolls of paper. Larger drawings are constructed in sections and hot-pressed together thereby allowing for creations larger than the limitations of a typewriter’s traditional paper-feed. Concealed in most drawings are hidden type-written messages or words inspired by the backstory of a particular project that the artist is working on.
Fun Fact: Due to his feature on NBC Today, Cook has sold out of all his original architectural drawings! He is working to rebuild his stockpile to keep up with demand.
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