On her website, Annie Vought writes “I have been working with cut out correspondence for the past four years. I meticulously recreate notes and letters that I have found, written, or received by enlarging the documents onto a new piece of paper and intricately dissecting the negative spaces with an Exact-o knife. The handwriting and the lines support the structure of the cut paper, keeping it strong and sculptural, despite its apparent fragility. In these paper cutouts, I focus on the text, structure, and emotion of the letter in an elaborate investigation into the properties of writing and expression. Penmanship, word choice, and spelling all contribute to possible narratives about who that person is and what they are like. My recreating the letters is an extended concentration on peoples’ inner lives and the ways they express their thoughts through writing.” One of her papercuts is to the left, and you can see more here.
I felt gloomy after reading this. The art of handwriting is not dead exactly, but I spend all day yesterday in a meeting where everyone had a laptop open to take notes. Even the Don’t Touch My Lunch!!!!” sign on the breakroom refrigerator was a printout.
Every letter has a personality when it’s made by hand. Thanks for shining a light on this artist, Ms. Green Chair.