Tom Phillips
91.19
This abstract painting uses flowing lines and layered writing instead of clear, readable words. The shapes and movement of the letters create meaning through the way they look.
Tom Phillips was an artist who combined words and images to explore the connection between language and art. His work shows how letters and writing can create pictures while also sharing ideas.
This artwork encourages viewers to look closely and find their own meaning. The unreadable writing is an important part of the design. It shows that art can communicate beyond words.
British artist Tom Phillips explored the connection between language and visual art. He combined words, letters, and images throughout his career. His work shows that writing can communicate ideas and also become part of a work of art. He worked in many forms, including painting, collage, poetry, and book art. Phillips is best known for A Humument, an altered book project that transforms the pages of a printed novel into visual art.
Everything I use is almost like dirt off the street … [it] has already, in some way, been accepted by the world … I love the matter of human life.
Tom Phillips
In The Calligrapher Replies I, Phillips used flowing calligraphic lines and layers of writing instead of clear, readable text. Calligraphy is the art of creating decorative handwriting or lettering using careful, controlled lines and shapes. A trip to Japan inspired Phillips to use calligraphy in his artwork. He became interested in calligraphy’s emphasis on gesture, rhythm, and the detailed shapes and forms of the letters themselves. This style was very different from the bold, stenciled letters in his earlier paintings.
Viewers may recognize a few words or phrases in this painting, but the writing was not meant to be fully read. Phillips’s work transforms language into a visual design made of shapes, lines, and movement. By making the text difficult to read, the artist encourages viewers to look closely and discover their own meaning.
Comprado con fondos de varios donantes, por intercambio
1987
38 3/4 × 61 1/4 inches (98.4 × 155.6 centimeters)
Pinturas
Moderno