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The Word As Art

The Word As Art

Vol 27 no 1


How is it that so many artists continue to choose text as a means of communication over visual imagery? What do words in a visual arts context contribute to the nature of art practice, and where has this tradition come from? The marriage of image and word in the contemporary urban environment is only one aspect of a subject which goes back to ancient history and forward to mobile phones. Guest editor Richard Tipping and a raft of great writers survey the subject - from public art, slogan art, language, calligraphy, installations to artists' books.


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NAVA - National Association for the Visual Arts

New Internationalist













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You are here » Artlink » Vol 27 no 1 » Word as Image: Islamic calligraphy in contemporary art

Word as Image: Islamic calligraphy in contemporary art

Sarah Thomas, feature

In the broadest terms calligraphy can be seen as a prescriptive form of drawing and in this liberated sense an artist is free to investigate its role as both message and ornament.
This article looks at the nature of Islamic calligraphy via the works of two very different artists working in Australia today – Iranian born Hossein Valamanesh and Naeem Rana of Pakistan. With the significance of language and the written word in Islamic culture it is hardly surprising that visual artists have in recent decades turned to it as the source of cultural and political potency.



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