I've never expected to see so much Word Art in Paris+ Art Basel!
The first time I came across using words as a form of art was in the painting of American pop artist Robert Indiana. In 1965 he used four letters L-O-V-E against a backdrop of blue and green color.
I actually googled and found out that Word Art has been used since the 1950s by artists classified as postmodern.
The definition of Word Art is "text-based imagery featuring words and phrases in a variety of media including painting, sculpture, lithography, screen printing, applied art, and projection mapping. Jasper Johns started inserting text in his artworks as early as 1957, followed by Roy Lichenstein and Andy Warhol.
Elena Martinque described it as, "Thoughtfully utilizing text as a primary vehicle of communication in their artistic expression, these artists created works that pushed boundaries, shocked and seduced.
Several expressions of Word Art were displayed at the art fair. I was intrigued by the work of Tony Coke's lightbox. It featured Kanye West's comments: "I am the number one human being in music.... I am Warhol. I am the No. 1 most impactful artist of our generation" on 9 x 7 solid blue and red tiles. Apologies that I wasn't able to note the name of the artist, title and gallery of the last three artworks below:
I asked one of the galleries representing a Word Art artist for a stand-alone text priced at 10,000 euros. He said that the artwork's owner could use it in a billboard, for instance, for as long as the integrity of the text's font and spacing are retained. Not bad. it's like purchasing a copyright.
The Paris+ par Art Basel, the new Modern and contemporary art fair, opened its doors at the Grand Palais Éphémère from October 20 to 23 with 156 galleries participating from 30 countries
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