Updated April 2023 - A More Complete Working Definition of Text-Based Art, Word Art, and Visual Art With Language

What is text-based art?

One working definition is this: Text-based art, or art with words or language, is a broad category of art where artists and viewers interact and interpret not only visual images, but also ideas conveyed through words, symbols, or other elements of communication.

Text-based art, which has existed for thousands of years on every continent of the world, typically has one or both of two elements: The artist might make the the language in the artwork aesthetically pleasing on their own, or the artist might make the language serve the purpose of communicating meaning, or both. Visual art with words and language, like music with lyrics, can give both the artist and the viewer more ways to have a dialogue, as ambiguities can leave more room for viewer interpretation.

Example (1) — From the Middle East / Mediterranean.

Text-based art thus offers unique possibilities for artists and viewers to dialogue and communicate thoughts and feelings—ideas and emotions.

On the other hand, language in text-based art can present communication barriers due to language differences, and it can be susceptible to being didactic—telling the viewer what to feel or think—rather than leaving room for viewer interpretation.

Over the course of thousands of years in hundreds of cultures on every continent, artists have combined visual elements with language elements to communicate, to record and pass down cultural information and wisdom, and to express not just thoughts and views but also emotions and feelings.

Example (2) — From China.

In the future, it is possible that one evolving characteristic of text-based art is that, in certain artworks, this type of art might be able to inspire common feelings, discussions, and dialogues across cultures and across borders. This possibility exists, but is not a given. It will depend on artists, viewers, and the artworks they make and interpret.

The final aspect of a definition of text-based art is that it is a broad area of art, existing in almost every medium from painting to video, and ranging from words being the primary, secondary, or even tertiary component of an artwork. Text-based art is not limited to artworks that are only words or mostly words—rather, elements of language or symbols only have to be a part. Any indication of text, language, symbol, or writing system in a work of visual art logically places it within the definition of text-based art, along with the other additional movements or schools the artwork may be associated with.

Example (3) — From the United States.

In short, a more complete working definition of text-based art recognizes that it is a far broader a category of art than many other definitions suggest, as it has hundreds of art histories, plural, on every continent, for thousands of years, in dozens of mediums, expressed in thousands of different variations and ways.

This is a long and dry academic definition for something that, across cultures and time, has always been super cool.