Over the years a fair few artists have given me their card. The majority are pretty plain, with minimalist white designs particularly popular. That seems a bit of a missed opportunity, so here are a few which do more to assert an artistic identity. Jeremy Hutchinson’s (1) is minimalist and white… but with the neat twist of splitting his name between front and back. (2) is Yves Klein’s card in his alternate role – as a judo instructor. Bob Sparham (3) provides the similarly mysterious self-definition ‘shadow painter’ – because the theme of his paintings is ‘Shadows, particularly shadows cast on the figure’. Film maker John Smith not only has an unusually small card (4), he makes a performance out of handing it out by claiming ‘Card Giver’ as his profession. Imogen Welch’s way of drawing you in with a question (5) is consistent with her art, as is Sadie Hennessy’s cheeky play on a sexual parallel (6). There’s a case for putting your photo on the back to remind recipients whom they met, and that serves a double purpose if – like James M Barrett (7) – you are a portrait photographer. Things get more crowded if you paint group portraits, as does Carl Randall (10). Nicholas Dedics (8) and Emily Scott (9) use elements of their paintings as the design, the latter using that device to move some way towards seeking attention through colour. My own, in case you wonder, plays that card (11) rather shamelessly to the max.
