This Artist Bank will present artists that engage with the theme of 'Text'.
The theme of 'text' in contemporary art delves into the expressive potential of language and symbols in their written forms. This collection highlights artists who explore the concept of 'text' in diverse and inventive ways, from reinterpreting written language to uncovering deeper layers of meaning in our interactions with words. These artworks invite viewers to engage with language in new contexts and challenge their perceptions of the written word.
Advertising
These artists explore how text is used to influence, persuade, and manipulate in commercial contexts. Through their work, they reveal the underlying messages and cultural impact of promotional text.
Mel Bochner, Blah, Blah, Blah, 2014
Wang Guangyi, Great Criticism – Coca Cola, 1994
Instructions
Written directives can create artistic experiences and audio instructions can guide us in observing the texts around us. These artists experiment with the power of language to shape actions and perceptions, using instructions to transform everyday environments into interactive art. By engaging with both written and spoken directions, they invite participants to follow, interpret, or even question the instructions, thereby turning the process of reading and listening into a dynamic and immersive experience.
Janet Cardiff, The Missing Voice (Case Study B), 1999
John Baldessari, I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art, 1971
Yoko Ono, Painting to Exist Only When It’s Copied or Photographed (Instruction Painting),1964
CALLIGraffiti
Contemporary artists use graffiti to reveal insights and revelations in both public and private spaces. Through the writing on the walls, these artists transform everyday environments into canvases for expression, challenging the boundaries between art, public discourse, and personal reflection.
Christopher Wool, Apocalypse Now, 1988
Greg Papagrigoriou, Untitled, 2012
Stephen Powers, Struggle is my Business, 2023
Pop Art
Pop Artists often use writing and text as central elements of their work. Pop Art's engagement with popular culture, advertising, and mass media is mirrored in the playful and critical use of text by these artists. They incorporate bold, familiar words and phrases into their art, echoing the commercial and cultural language of everyday life.
Ed Ruscha, HONK, 1962
Edward Collier, A Trompe l’Oeil of Newspapers, Letters and Writing Implements on a Wooden Board, 1699
Roy Lichtenstein, Oh...Alright...,1964
Protest
These artists use the written word as a powerful tool and platform for protest. These artists harness text in their work to challenge authority, amplify marginalised voices, and provoke social and political change. Through their innovative use of language, they transform art into a medium of resistance, encouraging viewers to reconsider the impact of words in the fight for justice and equity.
Barbara Kruger, Untitled, 1989
Hans Haacke, Gift Horse, 2015
Guerrilla Girls, Do Women Have To Be Naked To Get Into the Met. Museum?, 1989
Jenny Holzer, New York City, 1985
RefLECTions
These contemporary artists use written text to express their reflections on identity and personal experiences. Through their work, these artists engage in a process of introspection, using words to articulate their thoughts, emotions, and memories. The written text becomes a powerful tool for exploring and conveying the complexities of self-identity, allowing the artists to share their inner dialogues with the viewer.
Bruce Nauman, The True Artist Helps the World by Revealing Mystic Truths, 1967
Nicola Anthony, Murmuration, 2023
Tom Phillips, Humument: Self Portrait, 1987
Susan Hiller, Belshazzar’s Feast, the Writing on Your Wall, 1984
TEXTure
Contemporary artists here use written text to create rich textures in their artwork. By integrating words and phrases into their pieces, these artists add a tactile dimension to their work, where the texture of the text enhances the visual and emotional impact. The written text, whether through layering, embossing, or unconventional materials, contributes to the overall aesthetic experience of the artwork.
Adam Pendleton, If the function of dada, 2017
Gwyther Irwin, Letter Rain, 1959
Kurt Schwitters, Blue Bird, 1922
Mark Wagner, Barrack Obama, 2017
TYPOgraphy
This collection presents how contemporary artists harness typographical investigations to enrich their artistic practices. By focusing on the design and presentation of text, these artists explore typefaces, fonts, and letterforms. Typography becomes a dynamic element, where the style and arrangement of text are used to convey meaning, evoke emotions, and create aesthetic impact. Typography also opens the door to collaboration, with artists creating individual letters to be arranged as a collective.
Alida Sayer, Slaughterhouse Five: Type and Form, 2009
Ben Eine, Modern Art, 2019
Ebon Heath, The Cone, 2009
Lula Dupre, A, 2016
Xu Bing, Book from the Ground, 2019
Typography Scheme of Work
1 - COOPER BLACK - Introduction to typography.
Task: Fonts have feelings -
Students take the roles of advertising consultants, investigating what went wrong in these examples and identify 'contrasts' of qualities to consider when deciding a font to use.
Resource: https://bonfx.com/bad-typography/
Activity: Students design words with a font that communicates its quality.
Stretch and Challenge: Students design words with a font that communicates its antithetical quality
Homework: Kerning & Spacing game activity: https://type.method.ac/?fbclid=IwAR1gXGY4_jpfpqLoE2YqeGIIpEs2dskKQNefnLu3ojEY1kVoLxcyVbeaFMo#
2 - COMIC SANS - 'Pop’ art of comics
Task: POP Art -
Students make explosive artworks inspired by Pop Art, looking to artist Roy Lichtenstein for inspiration.
Resource:
Examples: from some of my previous students:
Homework: A is for Clothespin - Ask students to look around them to find images that represent letters. Students may spell their name or a given phrase such as the scheme title.
Resource:
3 - Dictionary pages
Task: Doodle detailed drawings depicting dictionary definitions.
Provide students with dictionary pages, tasking them with drawing a collection of things that begin with that letter over the top, producing a composition as seen below.
Resource:
Resource: (fantastic resource, however not all are appropriate, edit as neccessary.)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J59n8FsoRLE&list=PLflwtIgzTRcrfGiciYdoOWsRmB-J2xyzz
4 - Bauhaus - Create your own typeface
Task: Form follows function, using the 'fontstruct' online resource, students are challenged to create their own font. This task sets students to design 5 letters, used to spell out 'Bauhaus', All letters should be designed within a 3x4 rectangle and students may use the 'preview' button to save their work.
Resource: https://fontstruct.com
5 - My typeface - Photoshop lesson -
Task: Using the double exposure technique, create words with images of what they describe.
This creates a cyclical workflow, where students create letters in their own font, they can then edit it in photoshop to achieve a double exposure, and students can create several artworks in the time given.
Further lesson Ideas:
FUTURA - Barbara Kruger
Resource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ3WIZeBRZg (First 3 minutes)
IMPACT - Advertising
Handwriting - Using text as texture, handwriting to achieve tone.
Foil Print
Book Cover Design
Times NEO roman - Brutalism -
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[This post exists within an organic archive, the contents of this post is not fixed at the time of its publication but will grow as more and more artists are added to it.]
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