Lecture

Language Made Visible

Bio

Stephen Raw will present an illustrated talk about his work as a ‘textual artist’ over the last thirty years. In that time he has worked for a wide variety of clients — in fact anyone for whom 'bespoke' lettering is their requirement. ‘Where the computer stops’, Stephen says, ‘I start’.

Design groups and architects feature in his work but it has been the world of publishing that has been the commercial mainstay of his income. In his time he has contributed to thousands of book covers but only a few of them are any good he claims. In addition to this income-generation he has pursued his own personal work and has exhibited widely. Mostly they are experimental pieces which concentrate on the imagery of text but at other times he has been taking poetic language and delighting in that. Poetry is the result of a writer's care and consideration and that process is reflected in the time invested in painting or drawing it.

Currently he is working on a large exhibition concerned with the text, that composer Benjamin Britten, chose for his oratorio ‘War Requiem’. It will be on show next year in the City of London.