In Sundays Philadelhia Inquirer in the Art section, Art | The power of language as image sub title: Two small shows at the Art Museum and the University of Delaware explore art's various uses of text, as readable, as sculptural, as allusive.
Art Critic Edward J. Sozanski was talking about the language in art. He said, Treating language as image is an intriguing concept not only because it can take many forms but also because it's not always possible to determine exactly the impact of text in a painting, or as a sculpture. Text may supply information, but it also has visual power.
Language art comes in two basic flavors. One, prevalent at the Art Museum, involves using text that can be read, in English or otherwise. The other, which dominates the Delaware show, represents text through simulation or allusion - gesture that mimics handwriting and calligraphy, or objects that play off the sculptural quality of letters.

-Sabrina Coulter
1/22/07