Words as Art

Most people don't think of words as art. But for Mel Bochner, a pioneer of conceptual art, they are one in the same. In fact, for Bochner, his copy of Roget's Thesaurus is just as important an art tool as his paint brush. Since the mid 1960s, Bochner has been creating drawings and paintings that force viewers to examine the words we use on a daily basis.

Currently, 9 large word pieces that Bochner has created since 2005 form the focus for an exhibition of his work that are part of the In the Tower series at the East Wing of the National Gallery. 

The 9 works each have short titles. They include:

• Die
• Sputtle
• Useless
• Masters of the Universe
• Oh Well
• Amazing
• Babble
• Observer
• Money

In his works, Bochner begins with the title and then adds related words or phrases meaning approximately the same thing taken from the thesaurus and dictionaries of slang. For example, in his work Amazing, amazing is followed in vertical order by awesome, breath-taking, heart-stopping, mind blowing, out of site, cool, wow, groovy, crazy, killer, bitchin', bad, rad, gnarly, da bomb, shut-up, OMG, and yesss. Each word is in all caps and is followed by an exclamation mark.

Bochner forces viewers to really look closely at the work with his choice of colors. Some of the words appear in a distinct hue; others use a new color for each letter. Both techniques are deliberate attempts by the artist to make reading more difficult.

A National Gallery pamphlet available at the exhibition summarizes Bochner's latest works this way:

The words Bochner paints in these works are ordinary and adamantly contemporary. Just as he once used the thesaurus to portray his friends and their works of art, (in his earlier works, some of which are on display in an adjoining room) now he uses the same reference work to depict language itself. Bochner represents the way we speak now, the chatter of the cell phone and the street. Indeed, many of the paintings seem to portray what some might consider linguistic decline.

Tales, Tips, and Tidbits
Since the show is closing April 8, you probably won't get a chance to see the Bochner works.  However, more great shows are headed to DC.  For example, opening April 27 at the Smithsonian Museum of American Art is African American Art: The Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights Era, and Beyond.  Joan Miro: The Ladder of Escape will be arriving at the National Gallery on May 6. The National Gallery will also be housing a major retrospective of George Bellows which begins June 10.