Beautiful, Meaningless Letters? Abstraction and Calligraphy in Medieval Manuscripts and Modern Painting
Reed College 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd, Portland, OR, United StatesFrom Reed College's website: Did abstract art exist before the 20th century? Focusing particularly on the calligraphy and ornament of medieval manuscripts from the British Isles and Spain, this lecture will consider how some artists in the early Middle Ages toyed with the relationship between visible forms and sensible meanings in ways that did indeed approach abstraction. Considering these works alongside that of twentieth-century artists Jasper Johns, Paul Klee, and Ed Ruscha can help us make sense of how changes to the visual form of letters and their context can shift them from sense to nonsense, and sometimes back again. Benjamin C. Tilghman is assistant professor of art history at Washington College. He was educated at Lawrence University, Williams College, and the Johns Hopkins University.…