Text, Typography, Titles, and Truth

Across the exhibition Disruption: Discourse and Exchange many artists have chosen to incorporate text to further communicate their ideas. For many printmaking practices such as etching, screen printing, woodblock, the inclusion of text is a gruelling process as artists are required to create the text backwards on the matrix. This way when the image is transferred onto the paper, fabric or artwork surface, the text is the correct and legible direction. When conceptualising and physically making your matrix, this process can become confusing and introduce error. As a class discuss the different reasons for why artists would endure through this process to include text on their image?

Think and Discuss:

Using the four images above, identify how each artist has used text in their print and what effect this has on the audiences’ interpretation. Brainstorm these ideas on the board and then look more broadly at the other artists in the exhibition. Do other artists use text in the same way? Deep dive into the different words and phrases. How are they contributing to the interpretation of each individual print and how are they contributing to the conversations of the exhibition as a whole?

Debate: If the prints themselves are an exchange of information, do the artists need to include text?