Fine words for Kitching / Stothard.
Breathing life into the dying embers of letterpress … to light graphic fireworks
Top: Celia Stothard and Alan Kitching at work in the former alehouse yard now covered to create the Typography Workshop studio in Kennington, Lambeth. Photograph: Phil Sayer, for Eye magazine.
In a brief biographical sketch Birdsall (above, in hat) described Kitching as looking more and more like Eric Gill, and said that Stothard ‘sang like Piaf’. Kitching, said Birdsall, ‘breathed life into the dying embers of letterpress.’ Twenty years later, he was making fireworks.
The visual evidence was all around us: dozens of vivid typographic prints, most for sale.
Above: Kitching (left) and Birdsall.
Kitching, in an equally short and touching speech, gave thanks to the RCA as ‘the only college where you can do what you like’, and to Stothard, who had rescued him from his former ‘vagabond life’. He described her as a woman of many talents – artist, singer, taxi driver – but recalled that he was particularly impressed, on visiting her flat for the first time, that she had built her own garden shed.
You can read more about their partnership, and how they came to acquire the massive ‘Wrington collection’ of theatrical wood type, in Eye 74, the Winter issue, out in December.
The exhibition continues until 19 December, so if you’re anywhere near London, go – before they sell all the prints. Amid the hubbub I located Celia, who wrote the piece for Eye, and congratulated her being the only shed-building jazz singer I know.
‘Well it was a kit,’ she said, self-deprecatingly. ‘But it’s funny, Alan’s never mentioned the shed before!’
Eye is available from all good design bookshops and online at the Eye shop. For a taste of the magazine, try Eye before you buy.
November 19th, 2009 at 1:54 pm | by Twitter Trackbacks for Eye blog » Fine words for Kitching / Stothard. Breathing life into the dying embers of letterpress … to light [eyemagazine.com] on Topsy.com
[...] Eye blog » Fine words for Kitching / Stothard. Breathing life into the dying embers of letterpress … blog.eyemagazine.com/?p=387 – view page – cached Eye, the international review of graphic design [...]
November 19th, 2009 at 2:54 pm | by LS graphic design » Celebrating 20 years of New Letterpress Prints
[...] Alan Kitching & Celia Stothard are celebrated at the St Bride in London through an exhibition about their Typography Workshop. Some great astonishing examples of fine letterprinted matters, go have a look if you are in town, it is on till 19 December 2009. Long live letterprinting! [via eye magazne blog]. [...]
November 25th, 2009 at 7:52 am | by Kennedy+Castro » Alan Kitching and Celia Stothard
[...] Eye Magazine has a nice little overview of a show currently taking place at Advanced Graphics. The show is titled ‘Celebrating 20 years of New Letterpress Prints’ and serves as a tribute to the work and partnership of letterpress typographers Alan Kitching and Celia Stothard. You can read more about the show and see more of the sincerely stunning letterpress posters created for the exhibit at Eye. [...]
November 25th, 2009 at 12:41 pm | by Helen Ingham
This is a staggering collection, not least because of the amount of time it takes! What impresses me most about much of it is the way type is really made to ‘work’. Knackered old woodletter is ‘in’ with the admen at the moment, but this timely exhibition reminds us that letterpress can be a powerful and highly emotive means of communication when used by one who truly understands the process.
November 25th, 2009 at 1:15 pm | by gridula
I’ve long been a fan of Alan Kitching’s letterpress work. What a hero. I even went so far as to buy a hand-cranked 1/2 a ton Victorian proof press. Sadly it lies in bits in my shed…cheers Alan!
November 25th, 2009 at 7:19 pm | by Full Colour Type « Paul Hardman
[...] I went to see the ‘Typography Workshop’ (Alan Kitching and Celia Stothard) at the Advanced Graphics gallery. It’s an inspiring show, and had me planning my next visit to the Letterpress as soon as I sax the first prints. There is some information and lot’s of pictures on the Eye Blog. [...]
December 1st, 2009 at 12:05 am | by Printerly. « Lestaret’s Blog
[...] are a number of good web articles and portfolios to check out if you are interested. Go be inspired! Possibly related [...]