Writing by Drawing: When Language Seeks Its Other

303 pages, illustrations. "A book about writing and its shadow side. It examines a number of practices, from the early 20th century to the present day, in which writing leaves behind its communicative function and moves toward the sphere of the illegible and unspeakable. Writing by Drawing sets out to explore the tension inherent in script, the way it hovers between the genuinely semantic realm and the uncharted territory of mere arabesques, automatisms, repeated marks, and scribbles. All of the works presented inhabit a special terrain vague in which the act of writing is more about 'trying to say' than 'saying' itself, more about potentialities of meaning than about signification. Such writing has transcended communication, becoming a trace of existence and affirmation of self but also an element of fancy, a metaphor for the mysterious weft of the world. Our investigation centers on this ancient human impulse to move past the communicative side of writing toward the unfettered, absolute reclamation of the mark, with its wealth of imaginative possibilities"--Publisher's description. Exhibition catalog for the 2020 group exhibition organized by the Centre d'Art Contemporain Geneve in collaboration with the Collection de l'Art Brut (Lausanne). Artists include: Douglas Abdell, Vincenzo Accame, Rosaire Appel, Tchello d'Barros, Gianfranco Baruchello, Tomaso Binga, Irma Blank, Nick Blinko, Alighiero Boetti, Marcia Brauer, Elijah Burgher, Axel Calatayud, Gaston Chaissac, Laura Cingolani, Guy de Cointet, Dadamaino, Betty Danon, Hanne Darboven, Michel Dave, Michael Dean, Mirtha Dermisache, Emmanuel Derriennic, Jean Dubuffet, Giordano Falzoni, Chiara Fumai, Ryan Gander, Anne-Marie Gbindoun, Marco Giovenale, Rafael Gonzalez, Giorgio Griffa, Mariangela Guatteri, Gustav, Elisabetta Gut, Brion Gysin, Ana Hatherly, Emma Hauck, Takanori Herai, Joseph Heuer, Susan Hiller, Steffani Jemison, Carlo Keshishian, Henri Michaux, Miriam Midley, Bruno Munari, and more. Green cloth binding. Mild shelfwear and spotting/soiling to covers and top edge. Very good copy. …