Reflection: To Bauhaus & Beyond

Calligram

A calligram is a word or piece of text or poetry in which the design and layout of the letters create a visual image related to the meaning of the words themselves.  The typeface, calligraphy or handwriting is arranged to visually express the meaning or theme of the text. A calligram is thus a combination of poetry and visual art.

One of the more well-known artists known for producing poetry using the calligram is Guillaume Apollinaire. He created a volume of calligrams which was titled “calligrammes”.

Horse calligram
Eiffel tower calligram

Some examples that appeared in his collection.

Calligrams today

Calligrams are still being produced until this today, but instead of using poetry for the words component, creators use different themes to make calligrams, for e.g. using pop culture – the iron man calligram, as shown above, is made of words that describe the character’s personality and the lines he said in the movie to form his iconic iron man mask.

Thoughts

I think that using words to create images brings more meaning and depth to the visual itself, as illustrations and visuals often have to convey the meaning of a certain word or phrase visually (without showing the words). By using words as a medium to create the visuals, viewers will be able to understand two things – the object in focus and the message of words that tells the story behind the visuals. I think it’s a combination of liberal and visual arts that conveys the message beautifully.

References

https://www.artrepublic.com/art_terms/47-calligram-html/

https://blog.postofficeshop.co.uk/picture-paints-thousand-words-calligram/

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