For years I've been wondering about mixed media artists who are using old texts as collage material.
It looks beautiful doesn't it? Especially foreign texts. Texts in character languages. Texts on old paper, textured paper, ancient fonts, brown pages. Beautiful. I love it. But then I started thinking about it.
Firstly, foreign texts are a little dangerous. If you do not understand the language, how do you know what the text says? I would recommend being very careful that you don't inadvertently use material which could turn your artwork into something controversial or offensive (unless of course that's somehow your goal).
What if that text is religious and you didn't realize it? Or what if the text is something crude or horrible... something you would never include in your artwork? Ooopsie. I'm simply suggesting that we are careful to respect written words. The pen is actually a sword people!!
Hmm. Respecting written words. That's right. Somebody wrote those words. So although I think it might be OK to use text in collage and then sell the original piece, I'm pretty confident that it's not OK to use text and then reproduce it (multiple prints, cards, whatever) when that text wasn't yours to begin with. It came from the page of a book. It came from the mind of a person who wrote that book. Just like a photo or image that isn't yours, should we be putting text on a copy machine and then reselling even a portion of it?
My hubby warns me in his ever loving way, that maybe I shouldn't bring these things up. Let people make whatever they want. It isn't my business and it isn't my problem. As long as I know what I'm using to make my own stuff, let it go. Hmm. He's probably right. But I'm interested in knowing what you think about when you look at old text being used in mixed media artwork... and will you think about it differently now?
Arabic for Designers is an excellent book about text in art. This is a must-have for anybody working on logo designs out there. The book is beautifully illustrated throughout and contains newspaper clippings of epic mistakes from the major corporations such as Coca-Cola and Nike. It's a great addition to my creative library and the best part is it makes me think about our responsibility as creative people to respect language.
TJ, I'm always wary of using anything I didn't produce myself, so I support your posing this issue in your blog. Whenever I start to use a found image/pattern/design, I usually talk myself out of it by saying, "Hmmm...someone designed/drew/photographed/composed that piece, so I shouldn't claim it as mine." Then, I get creative and come up with my own stuff to ensure originality. It feels so much better to actually create the work from start to finish myself. I usually "fake" writing/text when I need it, so the script or lettering is in my own hand; so I avoid wasting time on wondering about meaning, copyright issues, etc.
Just my .02 though. :-)
Posted by: DJ | June 24, 2011 at 03:13 AM
This post made me think of a shirt I bought in Bangkok. It had chinese characters printed on it and someone explained to me that it's the direction to the central railway station mixed with a recipe for something tomato-related. Like: take a left turn at the intersection and mix the tomatos with coconut-juice.
I still love the shirt but am hella relieved it's something harmless-weird. Plus chinese people get a good laugh out of it. And don't even let me start on my chinese tattoo and how many people I enquired about if the meaning really WAS what I thought. :)
xo
Posted by: Skytimes | June 24, 2011 at 01:57 PM
To bounce of Skytimes quote, a friend of mine is a counselor, and a client of his made him a quilt. She mistakenly thought he was Jewish and the center of the quilt had a block of Hebrew writing lovingly stitched. He asked if I could read Hebrew, and while I can't, I recognized the bold statement in the middle of the quilt: Kosher for Passover.
What you use in your art is a reflection of you, your thoughts and your judgment. It's smart not to use what you don't understand.
Posted by: QuinnCreative | June 24, 2011 at 06:40 PM
I think I would stay away from strange languages if I really don't understand a thing about it. But if you do know that the book in Arabic is about gardening.... it might be not so harmful after all?
Also, just use pieces of the text - don't use complete pages. Cut one piece from one page, cut through the paragraph and glue another piece of text (about gardening) to the first piece.
I think that you will be safe this way! :-)
Posted by: Jacqueline | June 25, 2011 at 05:53 PM