I chose to develop a typeface using the word “unnoticed” from William Carlos William’s poem, Landscape with the Fall of Icarus. I thought the strongest message of the poem was one of the inconsequential nature of life. Icarus, like every arrogant child, ignores the wise advice of his father and flies too close to the sun ending in his own death. In Brueghel’s depiction of this Greek myth, as described by Williams, a busy world keeps working, Icarus’s death unnoticed. This story is universal and because of that becomes obsolete. Every child ignores their parents advice out of youthful pride and ignorance to the point of cliché. Because this concept is so unconsciously understood it goes unnoticed just like Icarus.
William Carlos Williams was an imagist. Imagism rests on three basic principles. First, a direct treatment of the thing being described whether subjective or objective. Second to use no word that doesn’t contribute to the presentation. Third to treat the verse like a musical rhythmic phrase but not to constrict it with the steady beat of a metronome. The imagism poetic movement valued precision of of imagery over sharp language rejecting sentiment.
I chose to sculpt letters out of wire and photograph them on top of natural-toned feathers. Just as Icarus falling from the sky went unnoticed I think that metal is such a fundamental building block of our world it too goes unnoticed in many settings. This goes along with the themes of direct treatment and lack of sentiment because of wire’s universal presence and its lack of emotional value. I chose to photograph the wire letters on a bed of feathers to maintain the natural atmosphere from Brueghel’s painting.
