Paul Elliman
Encyclopedia
Paul Elliman is an artist and designer based in London. His work combines an interest in typography and the human voice, often referring to forms of audio signage that mediate a relationship between both. His typeface Found Fount (aka Bits) is an ongoing collection of found ‘typography’ drawn from objects and industrial debris in which no letter-form is repeated.
Elliman's work has addressed the instrumentalisation of the human voice as a kind of typography, engaging the voice in many of its social and technological guises, as well as imitating other languages and sounds of the city included the non-verbal messages of emergency vehicle sirens, radio transmissions and the muted acoustics of architectural space. He has exhibited widely in venues such as the Institute of Contemporary Arts
and Tate Modern
in London, the New Museum in New York, APAP in Anyang, South Korea, Kunsthalle Basel
. In 2009 his project "Sirens Taken for Wonders" was commissioned for the New York biennial Performa09, and took the form of a radio discussion about the coded language of emergency vehicle sirens, as well as a series of siren-walks through the city. During 2010 he contributed a series of whistled versions of bird song transcriptions by Olivier Messiaen
for the show We Were Exuberant and Still Had Hope, at Marres Centre for Contemporary Art, Maastricht.
Elliman is also visiting critic at Yale School of Art
, New Haven, and a thesis supervisor at the Werkplaats Typografie in Arnhem, Netherlands.
Elliman's work has addressed the instrumentalisation of the human voice as a kind of typography, engaging the voice in many of its social and technological guises, as well as imitating other languages and sounds of the city included the non-verbal messages of emergency vehicle sirens, radio transmissions and the muted acoustics of architectural space. He has exhibited widely in venues such as the Institute of Contemporary Arts
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...
and Tate Modern
Tate Modern
Tate Modern is a modern art gallery located in London, England. It is Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group . It is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year...
in London, the New Museum in New York, APAP in Anyang, South Korea, Kunsthalle Basel
Kunsthalle Basel
Since opening in 1872, Kunsthalle Basel has examined various positions concerning contemporary art. This renowned exhibition space in the Swiss city of Basel has a very long tradition of supporting avant-garde artists and expanding the accepted boundaries of contemporary art. Contemporary art...
. In 2009 his project "Sirens Taken for Wonders" was commissioned for the New York biennial Performa09, and took the form of a radio discussion about the coded language of emergency vehicle sirens, as well as a series of siren-walks through the city. During 2010 he contributed a series of whistled versions of bird song transcriptions by Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
for the show We Were Exuberant and Still Had Hope, at Marres Centre for Contemporary Art, Maastricht.
Elliman is also visiting critic at Yale School of Art
Yale School of Art
The Yale School of Art is one of twelve constituent schools of Yale University. It is a professional art school, granting only Masters of Fine Arts degrees to those completing studies in graphic design, painting/printmaking, photography, or sculpture....
, New Haven, and a thesis supervisor at the Werkplaats Typografie in Arnhem, Netherlands.