Don't Read This, Too

How can a font change the way we view text? Can text be considered art? Don't Read This, Too, encourages viewers to push past the symbolic and communicative qualities of text, and to focus on the aesthetic value of letters and characters as formal tools in the visual arts. Using the elements and principles of art and design as a guide, discover how the artists use text as formal tools in these works.

14 Pins

Springville Museum of Art

Handwriting Samples

Brandon Sanderson

Elements And Principles

Randal Marsh - Handwriting Sample A, Charles [text by Brandon Sanderson] (2015) ink on gessoed canvas: Close up on letters

a large piece of art hanging on the wall

Charles Van Sandwyk Illustrations

Randal Marsh - Handwriting Sample A, Charles [text by Brandon Sanderson] (2015) ink on gessoed canvas

a painting of three women standing in front of each other with their hands up to the side

Nick Stephens - Image Coming Soon (2016) mixed media on panel

the words are written in brown and orange on a piece of wood with some type of writing

Springville Museum of Art - What's New at the Museum

Joseph Ostraff - Boggle This (2015) oil on panel: This work by Ostraff uses the household game Boggle to explore shape and form. Ostraff, who struggled with reading, spelling, and penmanship as a child, says he still struggles at word games. However in Ostraff's work, the power of boggle lies within the patters, lines, and implied shapes within other shapes, not in found words.

an abstract painting with black, brown and green colors

Holding Each Other

The Story

Springville Museum of Art - What's New at the Museum

Liberty Blake - Inversion (2016) collage on panel: Liberty Blake's artwork is made up purely of collage. She uses paper, carefully salvaged and collected, cut into shapes that are purposefully wedged together as if they're holding each other up. Blake strives to create tension and balance within her art, carefully considering the size and placement of each piece of paper. Her work is abstract, but the story behind each piece is personal and distinct: a place, friend, poem, or landscape.

the word art is written in black and red

Other Languages

To Read

Springville Museum of Art - What's New at the Museum

Namon Bills - Phrontistery (2015) collage and acrylic on panel: By overlapping, cropping, combining and obscuring letters in such a way that they're rendered illegible, Namon Bills encourages the viewer to consider text for its aesthetic qualities, independent of the message it could convey. He also tries to incorporate other languages and additional characters that will limit the viewer's ability to read the text.

a piece of torn paper with writing on it and some stickers attached to it

Mixed Media Collage

Natural Landmarks

Collage

Gary Barton - TBU (2015) mixed media collage

a piece of art that has been altered to look like it is on the wall

Gary Barton - 3 Back (1996) mixed media collage

a piece of torn paper with writing on it and some pictures attached to the wall

Springville Museum of Art - What's New at the Museum

Gary Barton - Ado (2015) mixed media collage: Gary Barton's work reflects his continued interest in the power of visual symbols and signifiers. He is fascinated with the variety of ways that meaning is assigned to and contained in visual clues, whether they are formal or referential. In Ado, Barton uses a variety of handwritten text and typeface layered throughout the canvas. He also uses scattered remnants of blank notebook paper to create a sense of of balance and movement across the work.

an old fashioned machine sitting on top of a wooden table in front of a white tile wall

Springville Museum of Art - What's New at the Museum

Christopher Shill - Concatenation (2016) oil on canvas: Christopher Shill focuses on the exploration of found objects, mechanical devices, and typography--subjects matter that often tells a story through heavy use, human and environmental interaction or years of neglect. Many of his works depict worn and weathered tools, creating an interesting juxtaposition between the utility of tools and text as a tool of communication.

Related searches

Springville Museum of Art - What's New at the Museum

Justin Wheatley - Reverse (2014) mixed media on panel: Justin Wheatley is drawn to the structure and form of letters. In his work, he chooses letters for their angels and curves and how they relate to the surrounding composition. By layering, flipping and intertwining letters, Wheatley creates a dynamic composition that interacts with the photographs in his work. Though Wheatley wants the viewer to notice the letters, he doesn't want them to be concerned about whether or not they have meaning.

an abstract painting with lots of wires and other things in the background that are blurry

Springville Museum of Art - What's New at the Museum

Linnie Brown - Not Previously Occupied (2015), close up on text strips

an art work with multiple pieces of paper on top of each other and one piece missing

Linnie Brown - Not Previously Occupied (2015) collage, charcoal, and acrylic on paper: Linnie Brown's work explores how humans impose structures on their physical surroundings through words and numbers. She views our interactions with the land around us as a type of manuscript, with humans continually adding more material to it and erasing or covering up previous layers. In her works, the text itself is nearly imperceivable because of its size.

an abstract painting with blue, orange and green colors

Visual Texture

The Meaning

Peace Symbol

Springville Museum of Art - What's New at the Museum

Nick Stephens - Left to my Own Devices (2016) mixed media on panel: Nick Stephens uses letters and universally recognized symbols as the sub-text or background for a larger meaning in his art. While each of these individual elements are repeated to form a pattern or create an implied visual texture, the meaning of the symbols play directly into a deeper narrative about technology and a society driven by text and "texting."