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A—Z,
1—10 Catherine Griffiths, 1984
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Shots in the air
Just 36 frames for a (typo) exercise in photographic restraint
Back in 1984, before Wellington Polytechnic had computers, Visual
Communication Design students spent big on course materials. One
tool our tutors encouraged us to buy was an SLR camera, analogue
then — either that, or borrow a school one for which there was
a queue. Somehow, I scraped together enough for a Ricoh, a leap
on from my Kodak Instamatic and its small, square format, prints
with rounded corners.
The camera (and the darkroom processes in league with it), we
discovered, was especially useful — photography brought to light
new ways of seeing, and unexpectedly introduced us to other expressive
disciplines — in this case, Lettering and Typography.
It’s a clear memory, being briefed in class, one sharp Spring
morning, to photograph the alphabet A-Z, followed by numbers 1-10.
We loaded up our cameras, each with a roll of 35mm black and white
Ilford film, 36 frames (not 24), and headed into the fresh air
to go looking. Seemed a simple task, erring on the side of boring,
we thought. Good excuse for a percolated coffee downtown at Suzy’s.
But, there was a catch. We were to shoot a sequence accounting
for the way the six negative strips of six frames would be set
out in the easel and printed as a standard 8x10 proof sheet (portrait
format), reading A-Z, 1-10, left to right, top to bottom.
Spotting a nifty ‘W’ on a red bus (the Wellington
transport logo), when actually I needed a ‘B’, called for restraint
over impulse — the shutter was tantalising. But no screw ups, one
film only. No chance to review, delete or cheat. This was a real-time
wander around a small city of letters and numbers — a serendipitous
composition of forms and figures on film in the dark of a camera,
idiosynchratic records from the mind’s eye, of a time and place.
Catherine Griffiths, Eye Blog, January 20th, 2011
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04 writing & critique
Walk With Me
by Stephen Cleland, curatorial essay, »Catherine Griffiths | Walk Wth Me«, Te Wai Ngutu Kākā Gallery, Aotearoa NZ, July 2025
On the Expanded
by Megan Patty, curatorial essay, »Catherine Griffiths Out of Line«, The Design Gallery, University of Melbourne, May 2025
The Shapes of Sound
by Ela Egidy, curatorial essay, »Catherine Griffiths Out of Line«, The Design Gallery, University of Melbourne, May 2025
A paper record
by Catherine Griffiths, introduction text, ‘Present Tense : Wāhine Toi Aotearoa — a paper record.’, Aoteaora NZ, May 2023
An installation on an installation on an installation ...
Artist statement, »catherine griffiths : SOLO IN [ ] SPACE« A documentation, Pocca, CHINA
September 2021
Porto Design Summer School 2017
Looking back on the fifth edition
April 2018
Notes from ‘Designing the perfect photobook’
A short talk as part of a panel discussion, PhotobookNZ
March 2016
A meditation
Sir Ian Athfield, 1940 — 2015
by Catherine Griffiths
Architectural Centre, NZ
April 2015
The Design Kids interview
The Design Kids, Jul 2015
A Playlist : CG >> CG
by Catherine Griffiths
DPAG Late Breakfast Show, NZ, Aug 2014
Body, Mind, Somehow: The Text Art of Catherine Griffiths
by Gregory O’Brien
Art New Zealand #150, NZ, 2014
Nothing in Mind
by Chloe Geoghegan
typ gr ph c, Aug 2014
typ gr ph c in Strips Club
by Catherine Griffiths
Strips Club journal, Mar 2014
In the Neighbourhood
by Catherine Griffiths
Desktop #294, Australia, 2013
Interview by Heath Killen
Desktop #294, Australia, 2013
FF ThreeSix
by Catherine Griffiths
Typographica, Mar 2013
A note on the D-card
by Catherine Griffiths
Apr 2013
She’s Got Legs
by Lee Suckling
Urbis, NZ, Jan 2013
Truly, No Idea
by Catherine Griffiths
for Flash Forward, Desktop, Australia, Nov 2012
Look for the purple lining
by Catherine Griffiths
Eye Blog, UK, Mar 2012
Q&A TBI
The Big Idea, NZ, Jun 2011
Shots in the air
by Catherine Griffiths
Eye Blog, UK, Jan 2011
John & Eye
by Catherine Griffiths
ProDesign 110, NZ, Jan 2011
Quite a Blast
by Catherine Griffiths
ProDesign, NZ, Jan 2011
Inner-City Modality
by Mercedes Vicente
ProDesign, NZ, Aug 2010
Beautiful World of Typography
by Catherine Griffiths
excerpt from a talk, Govett-Brewster Gallery, NZ, Jun 2009
For the record
by Catherine Griffiths
Introduction to TypeSHED11, NZ, Feb 2009
Locating Our Feet
by Catherine Griffiths
Threaded, NZ, Oct 2008
Notes
on Feijoa
by Catherine Griffiths
ProDesign, NZ, Apr 2007
Life in Italics
by Helen Walters
Print, New York, Sep-Oct 2006
Writing by
Types
by Justine Clark
Artichoke, Australia, Apr 2003
Shots
in the air
by Catherine Griffiths
Eye Blog,
Jan 20, 2011
related
links
www.blog.eyemagazine.com
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