by Fulcrum Gallery Staff
21. November 2014 09:19
Even before Facebook, artists were creating art from a combination of words and images. Such a combination was used to identify Roman coins, books from a particular college (using a famous quotation), and historical figures. The ornate script identifying the subject of the portrait in the frontispiece of this book (published in 1663) leaves no doubt that it was intended as part of the decoration.
Today, a collage of random words can make an interesting pattern, but when it comes to something that will hang on the wall, most people opt for meaning. After all, if it’s something you’re going to look at every day, you want it to speak to you. Literally.
Of all the rooms in the house, this communication seems to happen most frequently in the kitchen. People talk when they eat, and the cook is going to have her say, regardless. What does your kitchen communicate? A welcome? A blessing? An invitation to laugh? Or maybe just a promise.
Religious subjects are natural for this type of art, of many cultures and languages. Artists use the co-mingling of language with portraits to express the philosophies closest to their hearts. Most importantly, this is art that comforts.
Even art that was once informational, as this amazing world map, is used to inspire and enlighten. Poetry that moves us when it’s just words on a page becomes doubly meaningful when rendered in a painting that we can identify with.
Above all, some combinations of beloved art and meaningful words become classics that deserve reproduction for many years to come.
Tags: word art, inspirational art, canvas word art, framed word art, word art gifts, canvas gifts, framed gifts, religious quotes, scripture art, collage art, poetry art, meaningful art, meaningful quotes, meaningful word art
Word Art
