Making Meaning

Look around. Do you see an “EXIT” sign? If not, imagine one. The sign you see is probably red and white with big letters. It clearly marks the exit and can be read from far away. 

Now imagine how useless the “EXIT” sign would be if it were designed with tiny, pale-yellow cursive letters.

The way designers style and arrange letters and numbers on a sign, printed page, or website is called typography. When designers work with type, they consider the message they need to convey—like clearly marking an exit. Similarly, artists can use type in their work to share a message or ask a question.

Can you picture an “EXIT” sign? It’s probably red and white with big letters. It clearly marks the exit. Now imagine an “EXIT” sign with small, pale-yellow letters. It would be difficult to read.

Designers think carefully about how to style letters and numbers on a sign, printed page, or website. This artform is called typography. Designers and artists use type to share messages or ask questions. 

One of the most famous examples of type in art is in the 1929 painting The Treachery of Images, top image, by Belgian artist René Magritte. The simple image features a pipe and the French words “Ceci n’est pas une pipe,” which translates to “This is not a pipe.” This statement, of course, immediately raises a question: If it is not a pipe, what is it?

Magritte was a key figure in Surrealism, an early 20th-century artistic and literary movement. Artists challenged conventional thought by juxtaposing, or pairing, opposite images and ideas. Of his famous painting, Magritte said, “It’s just a representation, is it not? So if I had written on my picture ‘This is a pipe,’ I’d have been lying!” 

The painting at top is a famous example of type in art. Titled The Treachery of Images, it was painted by Belgian artist René Magritte in 1929. He shows a pipe and the French words “Ceci n’est pas une pipe.” It translates to “This is not a pipe.” He juxtaposes, or pairs, opposite images and ideas.

Magritte uses images and type to challenge the way people think about art. This is a painting of a pipe, not a real pipe. “So if I had written on my picture ‘This is a pipe,’ I’d have been lying!” Magritte explained. 

Mel Bochner and Jenny Holzer are two American artists known for working with type. Bochner was an early innovator in conceptual art, in which the concept, or idea, for the artwork is more important than the finished object.

Bochner said that he explores how “we live in a world that is overcrowded with empty language.” In the digital age, people write “Ha” to respond to emails, texts, and social media posts, and it can communicate amusement, contempt, or nothing at all. In his 2017 painting Ha Ha Ha, above, Bochner stacks and repeats the word, but he cuts off the last line as paint drips off the letters—suggesting a sense of emptiness.

Holzer, also a conceptual artist, creates sculptures and installations. In her 2007 work Blue Purple Tilt, second image, short phrases, including “Don’t talk down to me,” scroll up seven LED signs. The phrases are all “found phrases” not originally written by Holzer. They scroll up the signs at different speeds, rapidly pulling the viewer’s attention from sign to sign, making the messages almost impossible to follow. How does Holzer use the composition and the type’s vertical arrangement to make a point?

Mel Bochner and Jenny Holzer are conceptual artists. They think the ideas behind their art are more important than how their finished work looks.

Bochner believes that today we’re surrounded by “empty language,” or meaningless words. For example, people often write “Ha” in messages. The word can communicate laughter, teasing, or nothing. In his 2017 work Ha Ha Ha, above, Bochner stacks and repeats the word. He cuts off the last line, and paint drips off the letters. This suggests a sense of emptiness.

Holzer creates sculptures and installations. In her 2007 work Blue Purple Tilt, second image, the phrase “Don’t talk down to me” scrolls up LED signs. Holzer uses found phrases that she read or heard somewhere. The digital messages move vertically, up the signs at different speeds. This makes it hard for viewers to read them. What point do you think Holzer makes?