Danny Flynn (born 4 August 1964), is a

D&AD Design and Art Direction (D&AD), formerly known as British Design and Art Direction, is a British educational organisation that was created in 1962 to promote excellence in design and advertising. Its main offices are in Spitalfields in London. I ...

award-winning designer and printer, specialising in limited edition book design and illustration, and letterpress and screen-printing. His work in design, typography and printing led to him working in post-production design for the opening title sequence of the Hollywood film ''

Gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

''. Born and educated in Bradford, Flynn received a diploma in graphic design and advertising from Bradford College Art School. He went on to study at Hounslow Borough College, London, studying graphic design and typography. After first working as a graphic designer, he further developed his interest in traditional printing methods.

Collaborations

Flynn also works with artists from other disciplines, such as book binder Eri Funazaki, milliner Flora McLean of ( House of Flora) and photographer

Derek Ridgers Derek Ridgers (born 20 October 1950) is a British photographer known for his photography of music, film and club/street culture. He has photographed people including James Brown, the Spice Girls, Clint Eastwood and Johnny Depp, as well as polit ...

Eri Funazaki

Flynn's series of books created in partnership with the Japanese bookbinder Eri Funazaki are included in private and public collections such as The

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

, The Yale Collection of British Art,

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a Private university, private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew ...

, Joan Flasch Artists' Book Collection, and The Miniature Book Collection, New York. The work with Funazaki has led to three awards: #2nd Prize. Complete Book Category, in the Society of Bookbinders International Competition 2011. #1st Prize. IBAT Award for Craftsmanship, in The Society of Bookbinders International Competition: Winner of the Complete Book Category, 2009. #1st Prize. The Society of Bookbinders Biennial Bookbinding Competition and winner of The Portnal Award, 2001. Work by Eri Funazaki and Danny Flynn: File:Danny_Flynn_-_lifeoutofabox_2_2.JPG File:Danny_Flynn_-_lifeoutofabox_2_3.JPG File:Danny_Flynn_-_lifeoutofabox_2_4.JPG File:Danny_Flynn_-_lifeoutofabox_2_5.JPG File:Danny_Flynn_-_lifeoutofabox_2_6.JPG File:Danny_Flynn_-_lifeoutofabox_2_7.JPG File:Danny_Flynn_-_lifeoutofabox_2_8.JPG

House Of Flora

For the designer Flora McLean at House of Flora, Flynn laser-cut typography onto rubber for garments and accessories for a piece titled Dress No.2, which proved popular at the 2009

London Fashion Week London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London twice a year, in February and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fashion wee ...

. The designs were shown in ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' and a film of the work, ''Letterhead'', can be seen on the ''Vogue'' website. An interview with Flynn for Print Week described the event:

With the help of Danny Flynn of Astonish Me Press,
lora Lora is a female given name and family name in the Spanish language of French origin meaning from Lorraine, a region in Northeastern France. As a given name, Lora may also be a variant of Laura or derived from an Italian hypocoristic of either E ...
McLean created fashion accessories and jewelry inspired by letterpress printing – with a twist! The designs could also be used to print with and came with their own inking pots so the wearer could quite literally print on the go. Rubber embossed belts turned into rollers along with laser cut roller handbags and cuffs bearing laser-cut text. – Print Week, 2010

Derek Ridgers – ''Every Bodies Enemies''

In 2010 Flynn made a series of screen-prints using the rock star and film maker portraits by British photographer

and the text of writer Marcus Georgio. The prints, featuring subjects such as

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, ...

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in 2020, and has twice been nom ...

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by nonconformity, free-form improvisation, sound experiments, musical virtuosity and satire of ...

and

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often in ...

, used various everyday powders – sugar, salt, custard and raspberry powder, etc. – and the exhibition, ''Every Bodies Enemies'' was held at Ketchum Pleon as part of their Art@Ketchum Pleon project. Examples of the work produced for the ''Every Bodies Enemies'' gallery show: File:Danny - Keith (smaller).JPG File:Danny - Enemies - Nick 3.JPG File:Every Bodies Enemies 2.JPG

Gallery

Flynn is owner of an art gallery named 'G511ERY' in

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Wal ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

. The gallery has held exhibitions by artists John Lee Bird, Brede Korsmo, Paradox Paul and Maya Malfatti, and a performance by the dancer Mirjam Sögner.

Works as a playwright

Flynn's debut short plays 'Theatre Dogs' and 'Monologue' were performed at an Open Ealing event on 29 September 2012, directed by Anthony Shrubsall and with a cast consisting of the actors Gregory Cox, Ben Owara, Robin Miller and Francesca Wild. The two pieces were performed alongside the works of Liam O'Grady and Wally Sewell. The plays were subsequently performed again in 2012 and 2013 at the Drayton Court theatre in London.

Snow sculpting

Flynn captained the British ice sculpting team three times, during 2002 and 2004, in The International Snow Sculpture Championship and The International Snowfest Sculpting Competition in the US and Canada, respectively – being awarded the 1st prize in 2002 Snowfest competition in Ontario for the sculpture entitled 'Urgh'. Danny Flynn captaining the award-winning British snow sculpture team in Canada: File:Danny Flynn - snow 4.JPG, File:Danny Flynn - snow 1.JPG, File:Danny Flynn - snow 3.JPG, File:Danny Flynn - snow 2.jpg,

Awards

* 2001 – 1st Prize. With Eri Funazaki. Work title: 'Life in a Box'. Winner of the Complete Book Category, The Society of Bookbinders Biennial Bookbinding Competition and winner of The Portnal Award. *2002 – 1st place. Sculpture title: 'Urgh'. Captain of 3 snow sculptors representing Great Britain in The International Snowfest Sculpting Competition, Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. Carving from an 8 foot x 8 foot block of compressed snow. *2007 – D&AD Award. Work title: 'Block'. Graphic Design Posters category. Letterpress print for a Stella Artois national advertising campaign. Commissioned by Lowe, London. * 2009 – 1st Prize. With Eri Funazaki. Work title: '28 Characters'. IBAT Award for Craftsmanship, in The Society of International Bookbinders Competition. Professional category. * 2011 – 2nd Prize. With Eri Funazaki. Work title: 'Finger Print'. Complete Book Award, in The Society of Bookbinders International Competition. Professional category.

Exhibitions

Flynn's work has been exhibited internationally since 1995 from

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

to Japan, in London, New York, Tokyo and San Francisco, and in galleries such as

The Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

, The Saatchi Gallery,

The Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhib ...

, MoDA, Chaucer Centre and Ketchum Pleon. His work has also been exhibited in public spaces such as

Waterstones Waterstones, formerly Waterstone's, is a British book retailer that operates 311 shops, mainly in the United Kingdom and also other nearby countries. As of February 2014, it employs around 3,500 staff in the UK and Europe. An average-sized Wa ...

and

Selfridges Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of high-end department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited, part of the Selfridges Group of department stores. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridg ...

.
;Selected exhibitions * ''AL-MUTANNABBI STREET BROADSIDES'' – tour 2010–2011. A coalition of printmakers whose work commemorated the bombing of the Al-Mutanabbi bookselling district in Baghdad. Danny Flynn/Nick Smart piece: The Past Is Our Culture/ Remember The Future. * ''FUNAZAKI & FLYNN'' – Ketchum Pleon, Shoreditch, UK. An exhibition of the handbound and handprinted books of Eri Funazaki and Danny Flynn. 18 November 2010 – 7 January 2011. * ''EVERY BODIES ENEMIES'' – Ketchum Pleon, Shoreditch, UK. 12 Screen-prints of rock stars and film makers using the photographs of

. Sponsor: G. F Smith papers. 2010 * ''DENTAID CAMPAIGN FOR WORLD WIDE SMILES'' – The Saatchi Gallery, London, UK. An exhibition of works donated by artists in aid of Dentaid. Launch November 2010. * ''LIFE OUT OF A BOX'' – Flow Gallery, Notting Hill, UK. With Eri Funzaki. The 6th Designer Bookbinders exhibition. 2010. * ''UNTITLED'' – Coalition Headquarters, San Francisco, US. Letterpress printed broadside commemorating the bombing on al-Mutanabbi Street on 5 March 2007. 2009. * ''A MECURIAL DESIRE'' – Flow Gallery, Notting Hill, UK. With Eri Funzaki. The 5th Designer Bookbinders exhibition. 2009. * ''28 CHARACTERS'' – Flow Gallery, Notting Hill, UK. With Eri Funzaki. The 4th Designer Bookbinders exhibition. 2008. * ''STEPPING OUT OF A BOX'' – Flow Gallery, Notting Hill, UK. With Eri Funzaki. The 3rd Designer Bookbinders exhibition. 2007. * ''LIFE IN A BOX'' – Flow Gallery, Notting Hill, UK. With Eri Funzaki. The 2nd Designer Bookbinders exhibition. 2005. * ''UNTITLED'' – Selfridges, Oxford Circus, UK. With Eri Funazaki. 2005

Books

;Selected books by Danny Flynn * ''One and Two'' – by Danny Flynn with Eri Funazaki. A fine bound artists' book. 2011. Edition of 5. * ''Finger Print''- by Danny Flynn with Eri Funazaki. A fine bound artists' book. 2011. Edition of 5. * ''Life Out of a Box'' – by Danny Flynn with Eri Funazaki. A fine bound artists' book. 2010. Edition of 5. * ''A Mercurial Desire'' – by Danny Flynn with Eri Funazaki. A fine bound artists' book. Including bronze figure. 2009. Edition of 5. 2009 * ''28 Characters'' – by Danny Flynn with Eri Funazaki. A fine hinge bound artists' book. Including bronze figure. 2008. Edition of 5 * ''Stepping Out of a Box'' – by Danny Flynn with Eri Funazaki. A non-adhesive binding. Boxed. 2007 . Edition of 15. * ''Lino Coots'' (boxed) – by Danny Flynn with Eri Funazaki. 2005. Edition of 3. * ''Ink'' – by Danny Flynn with Eri Funazaki. 2001. Edition of 65. * ''Life in a Box'' (Artists' Box Edition) – by Danny Flynn with Eri Funazaki. 2001. Edition: 5. * ''Life in a Box'' (Fine Bound Edition) – by Danny Flynn with Eri Funazaki. A fine bound artists' book. With 12 mono coloured zinc plate etchings. 2001. Edition of 5. * ''Smoke Signals'' – by Danny Flynn. A live performance video filmed by the Barbican Arts Centre, London. 1999. * ''The Hill / La Colina'' – by Danny Flynn with Anne Davies. 1999. Edition of 50. * ''The First Daisy on the Lawn'' – by Danny Flynn. 1997. Edition of 28. * ''Untitled, Volume 2.'' – by Danny Flynn. 1997. Edition: 100. * ''Untitled, Volume 1.'' – by Danny Flynn. 1996. Edition: 100. * ''Untitled'' – by Danny Flynn. 1993. Edition: 60. * ''The Bed and ‘It’ Collapsed'' – by Danny Flynn with Abigail Edgar. 1991. 1st Edition: 80. / 2nd Edition: 40. ;Selected books featuring the work of Danny Flynn: * ''Pataphysics'' – 1st English translation of Jean Baudrillard’s 1960s paper on Pataphysics. Letterpress printed pamphlet. 2005. Edition: 144. (25 signed by Baudrillard). * ''Prickling Counterpoints, Selected Poetry and Prose'' – by David Russell. Lithographic printed paperback. 1997. Edition: 1000. * ''Alphabet Soup, The Recipe for Success'' – Artists’ book mailer letterpress printed in salt and pepper and tomato soup powder. Commissioned by Alphabet Soup typographic designers, Clerkenwell, London. 1996. Edition: approximately: 80 * ''Words of a Wandering Pen'' – Poetry by Henry Harper Amos. Lithographic and letterpress printed booklet. 1996. Edition: 500. * ''Public Dreams'' – The Sculpture Work of Jeff Higley. Letterpress printed booklet. 1994. Edition: 50 * A'' History of The Lord Nelson'' – Illustrations by Abigail Edgar. Text by J. A. Heginbottom. Lithographic and letterpress printed booklet of local history. 1992. Edition: 1000.

Commercial work

Danny Flynn (printer) in print room, USA

* 2009 – Letterdress No.2 – with Flora McLean of House of Flora. Design consultation and manufacturing laser-cut typographic printable rubber fashion accessories for House of Flora. * 2008 – Peeterman 4% Larger – Commissioned letterpress print by Lowe, London for a

Stella Artois Stella Artois ( ) is a pilsner beer, first brewed in 1926 by Brouwerij Artois in Leuven, Belgium. In its original form, the beer is 5.2 per cent ABV, the country's standard for pilsners. The beer is also sold in other countries like the UK, Ir ...

national advertising campaign. UK. * 2007 – Block – Commissioned letterpress print from laser-cut blocks for a Stella Artois national advertising campaign. Lowe, London. UK. * 2002 – Ice sculpting sessions – with Croydon College art students. Exhibited at Croydon Clocktower, South London. UK. * 2001 – Mural painting. Commissioned by Groundwork Landscape Architects, West London. UK. * 2000 – Mural painting. Incorporating 3d sculptures. Commissioned by The Mill House Ecology Center, South London. UK. * 2000 – Drawings and stencil cut designs for spray-painting. As part of a team building exercise for Haymarket Publishing. Commissioned Groundwork Landscape West London. UK. * 1999 – Ridley Scott's film ''

''. Assistant to Nick Livesy in post production for opening and title of the movie. DreamWorks &

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

. UK & US.

Research

Flynn has presented talks and workshops at the

London College of Communication The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation, film, graphic design, photography and sound arts. It has approximately ...

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated MDX) is a public research university in Hendon, northwest London, England. The name of the university is taken from its location within the historic county boundaries ...

(as Visiting Lecturer in Graphic Design, Fashion, Design, Styling and Promotion, Illustration and Interior Architecture; Visiting Lecturer in letterpress; Research Associate in Bookworks, Letterpress and Print), Hastings College of Art & Design (as Visiting Lecturer in Art and Design), and

London Metropolitan University London Metropolitan University, commonly known as London Met, is a public research university in London, England. The University of North London (formerly the Polytechnic of North London) and London Guildhall University (formerly the City ...

(as Visiting Lecturer in Fine Art).; and lectured in the UK and Germany for The Children's Trust Charity,

Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design Central Saint Martins is a public tertiary art school in London, England. It is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of sho ...

, The Art Workers Guild, Middlesex University and The International Conference on Technology in Berlin. Flynn's research has been published in the UK, the US and Germany in The International Journal of the Arts in Society; Bound and Lettered, Artists' Books, Bookbinding, Papercraft and Calligraphy; The Blue Notebook;The Blue Notebook: Journal for artists' books
(online) (print) Designer Bookbinders Contemporary Book Arts Newsletter of The Designer Bookbinders; and Book Arts Newsletter.

Research articles

* 2010 – (Berlin). A research paper published in The International Journal of the Arts in Society. * 2009 – (UK). Interview by Printweek.com 20 March. Article title: On Canvas. Letterpress print proves popular at London Fashion Week
Print Week
* 2009 – (US). Published article in Bound and Lettered, Artists' Books, Bookbinding, Papercraft and Calligraphy. Volume 7. No 4. Pages 16–22
John Neal Books
* 2008 – (UK). Published refereed journal: The Blue Notebook. Volume 3. No 1. October. Pages 38–45. Article title: Laser Cutting With Character.
ISSN 1751-1712 (Print). ISSN 1751-1720 (Online). * 2008 – (UK). Published article in Designer Bookbinders Contemporary Book Arts Newsletter of The Designer Bookbinders, Spring No 142. Pages 8–9.
Feature article title: Laser Cutting and Letterpress. * 2007 – (UK). Book Arts Newsletter, No 38. November/December. UWE Bristol, School of Creative Arts, Department of Art and Design.
ISSN 1754-9078 (Print). ISSN 1754-9086 (Online). * 2005 – (UK). Book Arts Newsletter. No 20. August. Wooden Type Survey
Book Arts
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Notes

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20091231141224/http://community.printweek.com/blogs/on_canvas/archive/2009/03/20/letterpress-print-proves-popular-at-london-fashion-week.aspx – Danny Flynn interview * http://php.sys-con.com/node/1331549 – Ketchum Pleon London Hosts Award-Winning Print Maker * http://dannyamosflynn.blogspot.com – Danny Flynn blog and interview * http://www.open-draw.com/dannyflynn&erifunazaki – slideshow of Flynn & Funazaki works {{DEFAULTSORT:Flynn, Danny 1964 births Living people Artists from Bradford Bookbinders English designers English printers Letterpress printmakers