The Proverbial Paradox of the Visual Pun

"The pun is generally considered as humour of a low order - the poor cousin to

wit and satire.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The pun has a long and enviable

pedigree in sharpening the mind and focusing the attention, not only in the

fields of entertainment, politics and the arts, but also in the theatre of war. It

has for centuries been a refined and elegant means of expressing emotions

and ideas, suggesting in its subtle, often humorous way, that the interlocutor

would do well not to take things at face value."

This exhibition and the accompanying lecture, seeks to reinstate the pun as a

mirror to our mores and demonstrate that a well constructed pun, whether

aural or visual can amuse and enlighten simultaneously.

The work on show is constructed by hand, each character being struck by an

engineer's punch onto high quality art paper. The greatest care is given to line

length, spacing and the underlying implications inherent in the word or

phrase. The seeming simplicity, almost banality of the finished designs, belies

the rigour and elegance of their execution.

Chris Plato is a graphic designer, typographer and educator whose artistic

concerns lie in language and its expression through typographic, filmic

and written forms.

In tandem with building a reputation as a teacher and lecturer of graphics,

typography and moving image, working with students in the UK and

abroad, he founded and ran during the 1980’s and 1990’s, his eponymous

design studio in the City of London, undertaking graphic and promotional

design projects for individuals, businesses and corporate clients.

His current design practice focuses on engaging with artist groups,

especially those with an ecological focus such as The Arborealists, who

are obsessed with trees.

Plato’s obsessions are sound, language, letterforms and humour, all of

which are well represented in his design works, song lyrics, flash fiction

and film scripts, the latter of which he has self financed and produced

three.

Born in South East London in the mid 1950’s, he lived on mainland Europe

for a number of years. He currently resides on the English South Coast

with his wife but no pets - as everybody else has a dog.