From a previously published article on Typetoken:
Dan Tobin Smith’s ‘Alphabetical’ is an experimental project in more than one way: it is an exploration of typography using different materials but also one of perspective, where two-dimensional structures are recreated in three-dimensional settings. Dan plays with scale, colour, space, light and perspective, combining these elements to create the visual illusion of a flat letter when viewed from a certain angle.
Smith explains: “The project makes use of anamorphosis, or distorted projection to create the forms. This is a technique which dates back to the Renaissance and found one of its first uses in photography with an image called ‘The Human U.S. Shield’ made in 1913, which shows a staggering 30,000 officers and men of Camp Cluster forming an enormous U.S. Shield.”
The project started in 2005/6 when Creative Review commissioned the letter A for their Annual. I cannot even begin to fathom the ammount of work that goes into the assembly of even one such image. Truly astounding work. Dan is currently represented by the agency Art Partner. He can also be found on Instagram, and Twitter.
Images provided courtesy of Dan Tobin Smith.
