In The art that made me, artists discuss works in the Art Gallery of NSW collection that either inspire, influence or simply delight them. This selection by Richard Tipping first appeared in Look – the Gallery’s members magazine.
Richard Tipping is known as both a poet and artist. His artwork often bridges text and image, from large public sculptures to photographs, prints of concrete poetry and 'artsigns' such as Jump start, displayed in the 2016 Sulman Prize. In 1988 his word work Imaginaction was installed across the entire front of the AGNSW, while his exhibition Multiple pleasures was held in the entrance court in 1996. The Gallery recently acquired several works in Tipping’s 'roadsigned' series, and commissioned the remaking of his lost sculpture Safe art, newly engraved and titled Unsafe art. See artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/?artist_id=richard-tipping
'Words are sonic magic,' he says, 'creating our minds through meaningful sounds. I want to give sculptural weight to language, even if it means bringing poetic speech into the gallery one word at a time.' Or as the New York Times once put it: 'Tipping’s wordplay sneakily interrupts our everyday habits of perception and cognition to mentally tonic effect.'