PAUL NOBLE, 2004

Since 1995 Paul Noble (*1963) has worked on monumental pencil drawings of a fictitious town called Nobson Newtown – they link buildings and places that constitute the geography, history and mythology of Nobson Newtown.
In his drawings, sculptures, and films, he combines meticulous craft with a political vision to produce the urban "textscapes" of a dysfunctional "Newtown." A synthesis of drawing, architecture, philosophy, and satire, Noble’s project brings together such disparate sources as Chinese calligraphy, Sufi poetry, modernist architecture, and animal rights in a manner that recalls the intensity of paintings by Bosch and Piranesi, and the irreverence of Robert Crumb and Viz comics. In this first monograph on the artist, eminent art historian Ingrid Rowland and Whitechapel curator Anthony Spira explore the cultural context of Noble’s recent work. The artist brings together preparatory and associated material, edited by Migros Museum director Heike Munder, that presents snapshots into his working methods. An illustrated chronology and bibliography provide biographical background.

Edited by
Heike Munder
Anthony Spira

Author(s)
Iwona Blazwick
Heike Munder
Ingrid Rowland
Anthony Spira

English / German
ISBN: 978-2-940271-67-2
October 2004
Softcover, 190 x 250 mm
196 pages
Images 4 color / 160 b/w

Published by JRP|Ringier in collaboration with Whitechapel Gallery, London. Distribution in the UK and the US by Cornerhouse.