Bits
Artist
Paul Elliman
United Kingdom, born 1961
Date1995
Dimensions23 3/8 x 16 1/2 in. (59.4 x 41.9 cm)
ClassificationsPoster
Credit LinePoster House Permanent Collection
Object numberPH.7560
DescriptionAlso known as Found Font, Bits was submitted by Paul Elliman to issue 15 of FUSE (Cities). Each letterform is derived from an object found by Elliman between 1989 and 1995, mostly consisting of industrial trash. No glyph is repeated, and each salvaged piece of debris is small enough to fit comfortably in one’s hand. While seemingly random, Elliman’s process of making this alphabet plays with the concept that an environment—particularly a city—creates a language. As formal writing skills developed in response to the needs of domestic agriculture for systems of accounting and trade, and urban centers were established, human language became more complex. Contemporary society provides new challenges for communication—a shift that is reflected in Bits.On View
Not on view
