Art, Word and Image: 2,000 Years of Visual/Textual Interaction

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Description

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 uponby 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.

Reviews

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 *
this is an attractive and thought-provoking publication. Especially noteworthy is the treatment of the works of outsider artists, such as August Walla, which may well pave the way for further thematic examinations of contemporary art . . . those with an interest in twentieth-century art will find several of the seven essays a fascinating exploration of how artists in the modern world have employed text in their work. * Cassone *

Author Bio

David Lomas (Author)
David Lomas is Professor of Art History at the University of Manchester and the author of The Haunted Self: Surrealism, Psychoanalysis, Subjectivity (2000) and, with Michael Corris and John Dixon Hunt, Art, Word and Image: 2,000 Years of Visual/Textual Interaction (Reaktion, 2010).

Michael Corris (Author)
Michael Corris is Professor of Art and Chair of the Division of Art at SMU, Dallas, Texas. He was a member of the Conceptual art group Art & Language in New York in the 1970s, and is editor of Conceptual Art: Theory, Myth, and Practice (2003), and author (with David Diao) of David Diao: Works 1969-2005 (2006). As well as Ad Reinhardt (Reaktion, 2008).

John Dixon Hunt (Author)
John Dixon Hunt is Emeritus Professor of the History and Theory of Landscape at the University of Pennsylvania. His many books include Historical Ground (2014) and The Art of Ruskin and the Spirit of Place (Reaktion, 2020).