Language in Art

From the early 20th century, when Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque introduced words into their Cubist still life paintings and collages, artists have incorporated language into their images. Language in Art explores the variety of ways contemporary artists utilize words in artworks from the Akron Art Museum collection. While Shusaku Arakawa surrounds a poem by his wife with directional lines to explore relationships between time and space, Lesley Dill associates Emily Dickinson’s poetry with the human form in an innovative lithograph printed on organza. Kristen Cliffel frosts sumptuous ceramic cupcakes with questions regarding society’s expectations of women and Sophie Calle creates an imaginative illustrated narrative from photographs and notes she recorded while working as a chambermaid in a Venice hotel. The exhibition also features sculptures, prints and photographs by Robert Arneson, Vernon Fisher, Ed Ruscha, Lorna Simpson, Carrie Mae Weems and William T. Wiley. This exhibition is organized by the Akron Art Museum.