The Art of Text

There’s an article in today’s Independent about ‘Written Works of Art’ which, while looking specifically at the novel, looks at the emerging interest in the form – rather than the content – of the book. With the arrival of the Kindle and other electronic readers there has been a lot of debate in the publishing world over the fundamental nature of the book. The universally acknowledged truth seems to be that Content is King, that the author’s text is more important than the packaging it comes bound in, electronic or otherwise. But comparing today’s mass-produced paperbacks to medieval illuminated tomes, the article points to the re-emergence of the book as a hand-crafted work of art, with several publishing ventures aiming to make books as visually interesting as the stories they tell. The timing of this article is interesting, in that just yesterday I received information about an open art exhibition at The Horsebridge Centre Galleries in Whitstable. The theme is the ‘posted nude’, and artists are invited to send (by post) a piece of artwork featuring the nude on the back of a postcard. What makes it intriguing is that the organisers have also asked for ‘written nudes’.

‘We think it is time to bring the writing into the exhibition space, we know how powerful these nudes could be! Please take part, it is free to enter.’

You can find full information on how to take part here.