Typographic sculptures

Below are the typographic sculptures that will be used for the publication. 

The type sculptures for abstraction follow the idea to reduce the form of the letterforms to essence, to remove as much linguistic meaning and above all to create abstract forms. These aims are there to create 'sculpture' that highlights the curves of the letterforms. Curvilinear forms are often seen in Noguchi's abstract sculptures, so it is appropriate here to replicate them. 

These facial sculptures have the most varied use of weights in their compositions. Through these variations of type, different facial features can be highlighted and reduced to create visual balance and vibrancy in their compositions. In the same way of using a heavier weight to make a feature more pronounced, a thinner weight has a larger counter form that uses negative space to highlight its form. 

The interlocking typographic sculptures predominantly use vertical and horizontal strokes to create the more haphazard and conflicting forms. The addition of the curvilinear letterforms such as the Q and C add contrast and pronounce the effect of the interlocking strokes. Thinner weights of Helvetica are better suited for these interlocking sculptures as feel sharper on the page, piercing each form. 

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

The typographic sculptures representing Akari play on the counter form to give the impression of 'light' emanating from the sculptures. This section has some of the most varied of all the sculptural compositions along with Noguchi's Free Standing period. They consist of stand alone light structures seen in Fig. 1, smaller floor lamps and hanging lights in Fig. 2. The use of 3 'i's across most of the sculptures are consistent with the leg stand of Noguchi's Akari sculptures. 

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

To reflect Noguchi's freestanding period, bolder weights of Helvetica are used to replicate the strong impressions of his sculptures. In the same way that Noguchi's freestanding sculptures explore the use of physical space, the bolder weights of these typographic sculptures explore the printed white space through the scale of the counter form and forms of the letterforms. 

The sculptures in Fig. 4 are made to be benches that compliment Noguchi's benches shown on the same spread. 

In Fig. 5, the circular 'A' sculpture is made to be incomplete. The gaps in between the composition make for a more engaging use of negative space that goes in and out of the type sculpture. 

The type sculpture in this spread aims to replicate a table sculpture similar to Noguchi's The Uncertain Sea.