Art, Word and Image

Art, Word and Image examines 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 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 moreover 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 'spotlight' essays on artists whose work engages substantially with questions of Word and Image: Blake, Klee, Schwitters, Haack, Pettibon, McCahon and Walla. This ground-breaking volume will form a new framework for thinking about the interactions between art, word, and image in the future.

ISBN 1861897456   Pages 416 ISBN13 9781861897459 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 1633 Publisher Reaktion Books   Published in London Imprint Reaktion Books   Height (mm) 280 Format Paperback   Width (mm) 210 Publication date 01 Sep 2011   Spine width (mm) 29 DEWEY 701.08   Academic level Postgraduate DEWEY edition DC22

'Although commonsense seems to dictate that visual art is predominantly a visual phenomenon, when examined closely, as this book does, there are few areas not touched in some way by the use of words (or language) ... [a] comprehensive survey ... With its many colour illustrations and references for further study the book will be of particular interest to anybody working with words or language in their art.' - Arlis

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