Comments on: McCahon a designer?

By: Luke Wood

Luke Wood — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 02:56:56 +0000

I’ve got an awful lot I could say about this project, some of which I wrote in the catalogue for the Objectspace show. I talk about how the font got out there in the first place (an accident) and how I felt about it (not great), but then how with Charlie’s use of it I felt like the thing had come full circle, as McCahon listed amongst his references those road-side fruit-stalls…

I’m not sure if I like Charlie’s more or less either.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:40:04 +0000

Yeah perhaps there is an ethical debate here re use of what is essentially mccahons hand writing.

I remember reading that as his paintings gained in value and popularity, he started putting his signature further down so that the framing obscured it as it was annoying him that buyers were only looking for the mcahon signature in the corner and not the painting or its meaning.

By: Shaun Lee

Shaun Lee — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:16:11 +0000

Oh of course, not sure if that makes me like ‘Charlie’s’ more or less…

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:47:09 +0000

I’ve misled you – I need to make a correction! I’ve since found out that in fact the ‘McCahon’ typeface has been used by a multinational, found its way onto ‘Charlie’s’ fruit juice bottles and been used in the branding for an important Colin McCahon exhibition!

To find out more check out the upcoming exhibition – Printing Types: New Zealand Type Design since 1870 on at Objectspace, Ponsonby from 25th July 2009.
http://www.objectspace.org.nz/programme/show.php?documentCode=1806