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Art Text/Text Art: 45 years of visual story telling
Curated by our first curator James Kenney (Artbank curator 1980-1996)
Featured Artists: Ian W. Abdulla, Davida Allen, Darcey Bella Arnold, Mitch Cairns, Scott Duncan, Fiona Hall, Chayni Henry, Heather Koowootha, Michael Lindeman, Alasdair McLuckie, Noel McKenna, Mary Pan, Tom Polo, Jörg Schmeiser, Justin Trendall, John Ullinger, Judy Watson.
James Kenney writes:
From the moment it was technically possible, printed media have keenly blended text and image in their messaging. While fine artists have been more reticent this selection of work from Artbank demonstrates how several artists have deployed text in their paintings, prints and drawings
Text is a ‘cool’ medium in Marshall McLuhan’s metric. This is determined by how much of the viewer’s imagination is exercised in interpreting the message. Here we see many degrees of ‘coolness’, with some artists using text minimally to tease our imagination while others have deployed it to explain and give context.
Text also has calligraphic qualities. Its shape and placement alone have visual appeal while hand writing invokes intimacy and blocks of text entice us to delve deeper into its coded secrets.
Text, the fabric of prose and poetry, can be a valuable resource to enhance the artist’s message and engage with the viewer.
