Updates — September 2024 — Text-Based Art Gallery BP1

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Inquiries via ENGAGE Projects Gallery Chicago

BP1 as artist Adam Daley Wilson’s lab and file cabinet for images, studio research papers, and theories.

Updates — September 2024

Recently published on SSRN —- Conceptual Theory Art as a Method for Interdisciplinary Research, Hypothesis, and Critical Analysis Both Within and Beyond Traditional Western Social Sciences — An academic research paper on art theory in relation to Conceptual Art, Post-conceptual Art, Theory Art, and Post-Theory Art, including in this most recent article, September 2024, on SSRN, the Social Science Research Network: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4913371

Updates — April 2024

new working studio research paper on Somatic Art in relation to Conceptualism, Abstraction, and Minimalism (draft April 2024)

— page here

— pdf here

Updates — November 2023

See this as both a lab and a file folder for some of the ideas that appear in my art — a working document filled with everything from images to studio research papers to theories. 

Most recently (2022-2023) the focus has been my initial attempts to research and summarize the full and complete text-based art histories and art theories — plural, not singular — on all continents, not just the West, to more accurately document true nature of text-based visual as a global visual-language form that transcends East or West, or any one culture, or any one time.

As part of this (mid-late 2023) the focus has been, from this, to look at global text-based art (i) broadly, in relation to language and communication, and (ii) even more broadly, in the contexts of theories of human development, linguistics, and anthropology.

As part of this, I’m wondering what the relationship might be between (i) cave paintings and other early visual and symbol systems (and proto-writings and proto-languages), and (ii) language (letters, characters, symbols), and (iii) sound. And from that, I’m wondering if some combination of language (text), visual image, and sound might serve as a broader language, or a supplemental language, that could result in better communication across traditional language, cultural, geographic, and other barriers. Taken to its broadest point, I wonder if text-based art (especially with sound) can be more than art. Maybe it can be useful. Not that it needs to — and I’m sure none of these ideas are new — but what if it is. That’s currently what I’m most curious about. And some of it is in my head still, and some of it I put here. Meanwhile, here’s a new 2023 piece — based on some other theories that I’ve been thinking about . . .

Adam

Adam Daley Wilson

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New April 2023 . . . Artist’s studio research paper — This Is Text Based Art — An initial survey of the global text-based art histories, plural, of visual language art, including addressing the question “What Is Text-Based Art” — and its possibilities — through the perspectives or art critics, art scholars, art theorists, curators, and artist-thinkers worldwide.

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New March 2023 . . . an improved and more complete working definition of text-based art and word art is here.

Text-Based Art. Word Art. Language in Art. Text Art.

Whatever you call it, this is a lab for new Text Art theories, definitions, and histories. The primary working thesis here is that old definitions and views about Text-Based Art are unhelpful and incorrect. The secondary working thesis it’s important to get it right — because Art With Words may have a unique place in visual, semantic, and even aural communication across different cultures and times.

“Interactions Between Text in Images in Art.”

It’s not just that Text Art is super cool. Art with words also appears to have a remarkable potential, even a utility, all while being so aesthetically pleasing to both thoughts and feelings. But just like the academic definitions of text-based art are so dull and dry, all the air sucked out of them, so too the phrase “interaction between text and image” and similar academic concepts of nexus. If you love text-based art, you know it — in your gut — that there is more to this than just an “interaction.” It gets into your brain, it gets into your heart.

What’s The Relationship Between Words-Text and Images-Art?

So let’s see if the experimental ideas here — broader, more accurate definitions; histories that take full account of text art across cultures, continents, and time; theories about what this medium of expression really means — and might possibly have the potential for — let’s see if any of it holds any water. Maybe the ideas on these pages will; maybe they won’t. But let’s see. So: whether you call it text art, art with words, text-based art, art with language, word art, or even “interactions between text and image,” whatever, if this is your fix, stay tuned. Let’s do some serious thinking — and let’s see if I can persuade you that there really is something not just incredibly cool but also something incredibly promising about text, words, characters, symbols, and numbers that are part of whatever we call images or pictures or art.

Add New Cave Paintings.

One pending theory is that the famous cave paintings and petroglyphs found around the world from prehistoric and post-prehistoric times are part of understanding the new histories, theories, and definitions.

Add Text as Visual Sound.

Ditto, but the theory may be even more wild to some. Stay tuned.

These Articles In Relation to “BP1”

At the same time this lab explores new theories, histories, and definitions of text art, it’s going to weave in cross-cultural and cross-subject relationships and connections. The goal is to get past standard Western contemporary views and see the bigger picture — text-based art from different continents, at different times, executed wildly different ways. Linguistics, sound theory, methods of translating between languages, psychology, and cognitive theories will pop up where they seem to contribute as helpful. I say “pop up” because that’s what they do after 30 years as an academic and appellate lawyer (translation: research, comparisons and contrasts, writing). They also just “pop up” because I’ve had bipolar 1, the mental illness, for two decades now. That’s where the art comes from too — it just comes tumbling out. In the art, two recurring themes are (a) look at what we have created and (b) just who has the illness of the mind? Let’s see if that which informs my text art also informs my writing about it.

— Adam Daley Wilson

[Updated October 2022]

[About the author: Adam Daley Wilson is a gallery-represented text-based artist. He has traditional academic degrees — a J.D. from Stanford Law School in California and a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Both include work in comparative studies; the B.A. also includes international relations / diplomatic history / world history.]