[(Art, Word and Image: 2,000 Years of Visual/Textual Interaction )] [Author: John Dixon Hunt] [Sep-2011]

by Michael Corris

There are a number of complete histories of painting in existence, from earliest times to the present, and there are also several histories of writing, but there are none that describe interactions between the two. "Art, Word and Image" addresses this gap, examining the use of words (or language) in art - most often painting. This book asks what it means when a painting is 'invaded' by language - how do the two forms converse and combine, and what messages are intended for the viewer? Whether the picture frame is encroached upon by doodlings, as with Adolf Wolfli's seemingly irrational scribbles, or a plea to spirituality is blazoned across a vast canvas, as in the moving images of Colin McCahon, we can be sure that words here have a special meaning, one beyond normal language and communication. "Art, Word and Image" is constructed around three wide-ranging chronological essays by John Dixon Hunt, David Lomas and Michael Corris. The essays chart the use and significance of words in art - from Classical Greece and Assyria, through to the middle Ages and the Renaissance, to modern times and today's digital media, and indeed the questions this intersection poses for contemporary artists. These essays deal with a variety of movements and artists including the Pre-Raphaelites, Duchamp, Picasso, Ernst, Twombly, Michaux and Warhol. The volume also includes shorter, 'spotlight' essays on artists whose work engages substantially with questions of Word and Blake, Klee, Schwitters, Haack, Pettibon, McCahon and Walla. This ground-breaking, highly-illustrated volume is the first comprehensive history of the use of words in art. It will form a new framework for thinking about the interactions between Art, Word, and Image in the future.

Genres: Art

Unknown Binding

First published November 15, 2009

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely study on the interaction of visual image and text. Considers a wide range of examples, from medieval book illustrations through William Blake to the "text art" of the late 20th century (like the work of Ed Ruscha).

[Frances King · Rating 3 out of 5]

was ok