Woman With Words
Typography Installation
This twelve-foot-wide by ten-foot-tall hanging typography installation brings the female voice to the forefront. This work was installed at my solo exhibition, Might Be Tragic, at the Visual Arts Gallery at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. The words are a collection of written words lasercut out of wood. The large scale is meant to call out to the viewer, it demands their attention, and like a page from a book beckons to be read. The text becomes image with the use of handwriting, and conjures up a sense of familiarity in the viewer reminiscent of reading your own diary.
The words are in a less than formal cursive creating shapes and curves that propel the eye forward while at the same time being difficult to read as they simultaneously merge together and break apart. The choice of wood gives warmth to the work and creates a type of yellow glow in the piece as the light hits it. This warmth works in contrast to the stark shadows present on the wall casting a nonsensical version of the words that fascinates the beholder. Woman with Words asks more from its audience than typical, it asks to be appreciated for more than aesthetic beauty, but for its content, for its voice. Consequently, this aesthetic sculpture engages the audience in a perceptual monologue; asking the viewer to take the time to read and reflect on the emotions that are captured in the narrative.