Letterpress printers profess an intimate knowledge of the work they produce. They hold and set each letter. They watch the construction of language by its basic components.
Lowell, Massachusetts singer-songwriter Leo Blais may have not had letterpress in mind, but he takes the printer’s concern a step further. As a visual component to his mammoth forty-song Everyone’s Feelin Alone project, he has constructed life-size lettering for all of his lyrics and affixed the sculptures to the walls of his apartment.
Sculpting each word and setting it in relief on his wall, Blais lives with his language with a closeness few artists know. In his apartment, lyrics all but replaces sunlight–they cover the blinds, which are pulled down to create more space. Blais absorbs words, not vitamin D.
In addition to the lyrics, Blais has constructed each bit of language involved in his upcoming releases. From album title to liner note, each letter has been given the same weight and treatment.
Here’s Blais assembling the title for one of his project’s promotional releases (to the tune of one of the forty songs):