Auguries of Innocence is a poem written by Willian Blake in 1803. It is composed of juxtapositions of innocence against cruelty, the action and reaction of the human acts mainly the injustice, rigid class system and hypocrisy.
The project "William Blake’s Auguries of Innocence: First Experiences with Letterpress" challenged the students of the second year of Cambridge School of Art's BA Graphic Design to take a couplet from the poem and represent it visually in a letterpress postcard.
The Proposal
The inspiration for the the typesetting, came from the Concrete poetry, “in which the typographical arrangement of words is as important in conveying the intended effect as the continual elements of the poem, such as meaning of words, rhythm, rhyme and so on (Wikipedia, 2014).” To demonstrate the juxtaposition of the poem, the blocks of text were divided and put in opposite ways. To represent the juxtaposition of the poem, the text was divided in two blocks and set in opposite ways.
The Type
The typeface chosen was Grot, size 18, in upper case with a sparse letter-spacing to create a heavy, uniform block of text.
The text occupies a small space on the canvas to represent the greatness of nature, as described in the beginning of the poem.
The Surface
The paper used is hand-made with pressed flower petals. The mechanical hard printing imposed on the delicate paper represents the human action over nature, theme of William Blake’s poem.
The postcard was pressed twice, the second print having the paper moved slight to created a shadow.
The Publication
I'm honoured to have my work selected for the book "Auguries of Innocence: First Experiences with Letterpress" released in May, 2023 by Ruskin Arts Publications. You can get a copy here.
Project manager: Nicholas Jeeves
Letterpress tutor: Elizabeth Fraser
Assistant project manager: Diana Montañez-Rivera
Letterpress tutor: Elizabeth Fraser
Assistant project manager: Diana Montañez-Rivera
