Paul Noble - Nobson

This lavishly illustrated artist’s book accompanies the exhibition ‘Paul Noble - Nobson’ at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (14 June - 21 September 2014). The exhibition brings together, for the first time, 23 of Paul Noble’s gigantic pencil drawings of his surreal universe, Nobson Newtown. The works are drawn from private collections and museums all over the world. Noble (1963, UK) has worked continuously since 1995 on his imaginary city, which consists of drawings, sculptures, installations and films.
Writing provides an entry to Nobson. The entire city is made up of letters: a sculptural, difficult-to-read, computer-designed typeface called ‘Nobfont’. The letters are literally the building blocks of the architecture, spelling out the names of the buildings, sentences such as ‘Welcome to Nobson’ or lines from poems or historical texts.
The publication contains an introduction by the museum’s director, Sjarel Ex, an essay by Paul Kempers and numerous short entries by Michael Shanks. The book is designed by Esther de Vries, who takes the reader on a journey through Noble’s monumental pencil-on-paper city, Nobson Newtown.