Who Said What? Calligraphy inspired by Doctor Who from Anne Kaese

On display through April 30 at Uncorked in downtown Fargo

Opening reception: Wednesday, April 16, 5 – 7 p.m.

annekaese.com

Bowties, fezzes, sonic screwdrivers, a time-traveling box that’s bigger on the inside … there’s plenty of iconic stuff in the long-running and beloved BBC sci-fi show Doctor Who. On top of those wonderful things, there’s also the quotability of the Doctor, a centuries-old time traveler with sharp wit and two hearts’ worth of love for humanity. It’s those classic one-liners that calligrapher and painter Anne Kaese is capturing in a new series of work currently on display in downtown Fargo.

Why did you decide to respond to Doctor Who through your art?

It started as a project of combining my art with the current obsession of my children – a way of connecting with them and what they see as important, actionable, quotable and entertainment. My son developed a Doctor wardrobe and I threatened to make custard so we could try out fish fingers with it. It was fun seeing them respond to a man who solves problems with his wits and not a weapon, who loves bowties, science, history, geography, and being with people who challenge him.

What made you fall in love with Doctor Who?

He is the man who knows so much and yet knows he can learn more, know more, build more, find more solutions, find ways of connecting more people, experience more. He makes learning cool. He teaches us that real people are the most important gift we can gives ourselves, that we must never stop learning and that there is always a solution if we work at it. He is witty, kind, goofy, and always optimistic.

What was the process in creating these works?

I started out by creating pages of backgrounds. They are all slightly abstract places in time and space, all with a TARDIS somewhere. I wanted to capture the notion of time and space and opportunity. Some seem happy, some seem troubled, all talk of opportunity to fill in the space. Then, my kids and I brainstormed on their favourite sayings, mine, their friends. We re-watched our favourite shows and looked through the books Arthur has. Our last resort was the internet. Then we ranked the sayings and I had a list to work from. I used gouache and metallic inks to do the calligraphy on the pages with a script I developed for this project. It had to be non-standard – the Doctor is not a font – and modern with a throwback feel, too.

What was your favorite quote to work with for this project?

“In 900 years of time and space, I have never met anyone who was not important.”

Also:

“There’s a lot of things you need to get across this universe. Warp drive, wormhole refractors … you know the thing you need most of all? You need a hand to hold.”

Peter Capaldi, yea or nay?

As I am old, I have to support Peter Capaldi for being brave enough to reach across the generations and make aging men look cool to a new generation of Whovians. That is some special kind of tough and love!

Is ‘Vincent and the Doctor’ your favorite episode?

It is Rebecca’s (my 13 year old) and it has such a lovely message that it really should be. I love his homily (the Doctor’s) on good things and bad things. ”The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don’t always soften the bad things, but vice-versa, the bad things don’t necessarily spoil the good things and make them unimportant.”

I love “The Shakespeare Code.” It is jam-packed with all sorts of references to other literature, authors, and poets too. We all love a good sequel! It is all a bit Harry Potter!

Bonus question: Amy Pond or Clara Oswald?

Clara … but I am a River Song kind of gal myself.

Images courtesy of Anne Kaese.