In this archive piece from Grafik 178, we take another look at David Bennewith's touching publication about talented typesetter and fellow New Zealander Joseph Churchward.
Born in Samoa in 1932 and educated in Wellington Technical High School in New Zealand, Churchward remains to this day one of the most prolific and yet underrated typesetters in the world. Fellow New Zealander David Bennewith discovered a dog-eared copy of a Churchward International Typefaces Limited type specimen catalogue back in 1994 and was instantly drawn to him. “My appetite was whetted,” he says. “Was this man even still alive?”
Meanwhile Bennewith’s own career was taking off. Moving to Amsterdam and studying at the Werkplaats Typografie, he later became a researcher at the Jan van Eyck Academie in Masstricht: the perfect opportunity to do some sustained research into Churchward. The result is enough to bring a tear to the eye. It’s a touching portrait of a man who has met with success and failure in equal measure in his career and who fought for his place in the world of design. The scrapbook format makes an excellent presentation of the countless news clippings and letters bearing both good and bad news, ranging from acceptance on prestigious judging panels to news stories on his application for a travelling scholarship being turned down by the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council in 1973 (he was informed that lettering “is not art”).
Bennewith says, “The main thing I tried to convey with the material was a recounting of my personal engagement with the material itself. Joseph and I had a postal correspondence during the whole process. He was so enthusiastic and generous that I would receive a new package, full of photocopies, every two or three weeks. Joseph is someone that is completely devoted and dedicated to his work, through the good and the bad times. He is his work and his work is him.” One thing is for sure – Joseph Churchward is nothing short of design hero.
Joseph Churchward QSM (20 August 1932-26 April 2013)
Joseph Churchward
Edited and designed by David Bennewith
Texts by David Bennewith, Rebecca Roke, Daniel van der Velden and Paul Elliman
Published by Clouds, Jan van Eyck Academie and Colophon
colophon.info
