Recently my husband and I went to Winston-Salem for an appointment. While there we decided to do a little sight seeing and check out the local art-related venues. We were pleasantly surprised by the Reynolda House Museum of American Art. Reynolda is a historic home filled with antiques and, you guessed it...artwork by prominent American artists such as Grant Wood and Gilbert Stuart. After meandering throughout the house, gaping at the huge indoor pool, bowling alley, shooting area and spacious closets filled with period clothing, I peeked into one last room (at the chagrin of my husband who by now had a sleepy case of museum fatigue and was motioning for me to hurry it up). Anyway, there in the back "West Bedroom Gallery" was a small exhibition called "Wordplay: Text and Modern Art", which consisted of several pieces in the Museum's collection and a loan courtesy of the Wake Forest University Student Union Collection of Contemporary Art.
Suddenly I felt a breath of fresh air as I stood among the work of living artists who I have often gained inspiration from. People like Lorna Simpson, Shusaku Arakawa, Jasper Johns, Robert Cottingham, Glenn Ligon, and Edward Ruscha, who, like me are fascinated by the power of words.
Allison Slaby, who curated the exhibition, had the following comments to say about the show:
From the illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages through contemporary installations, the written word (or letter or number) has played an enduring role in the visual arts. This exhibition examines the various reasons that modern artists integrate text into their designs.
Whether exploring the function of language, the aesthetic form of words and letters, or the centrality of text in our environment, these artists embrace the rich material that language introduces to their work.
Image: "Untitled (How it feels to be colored me...Doubled)". 1991. Oilstick on paper, 31 1/2 x 16", Glenn Ligon
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