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Introduction

Text, Paratext, and Images

September 1, 2020 - July 24, 2021

As a form of communication, text conveys information and meaning. It also presents an opportunity for interpretation and artistic engagement. Paratext—literally “beside text”—includes the more subtle associations a text carries, including reference notes, inscriptions, and the style of lettering chosen. When artists combine image with text and paratext, new layers of interpretation are introduced, and new spaces of discourse are created.

This exhibition examines the relationships between text, paratext, and image. Examples from Qur’an manuscripts to historical Japanese prints to contemporary works explore text as decoration and reveal the aesthetic qualities manifested in stencil, print, and manuscript forms. These works also highlight how different manipulations of texts and images signal social class, education, and other cultural hierarchies and norms, and how intercultural exchange can take place through the juxtaposition of different languages and the circulation and interpretation of works that pair text and image.

Text, Paratext, and Images is curated by Kuan-Hung Liu (Brown PhD 2023, History of Art and Architecture) and Kimia Rahnavardi (RISD MDes 2020, Interior Architecture, Adaptive Reuse).

 

Events

Exhibition Overview: Text, Paratext, and Images
Talks and Conversations

Exhibition Overview: Text, Paratext, and Images

Virtual program via Zoom
January 15, 2021 / 12-1 pm

More Events

Selected Objects

Persian

Joseph and Potiphar's Wife Zulayka, early 1500s

Persian

Page from a Manuscript, probably 1500s–1600s

Persian

Isfandiyar and the Dragon, ca. 1680

Turkish, Anatolia

Qur'an Pages, ca. 1335-1350

Yashima Gakutei

Court Lady at a Writing Table, possibly 1828

Thai

Manuscript and Covers, 1800s

Fahri of Bursa

Page from a Poetry Album, late 1500s - early 1600s

Haku Maki

Wind-A, 1970s

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III)

The Ōdori Village Scene in Meguro hiyoku zuka, from an untitled series of jōruri libretti, ca. 1832

Japanese

Stencil (Katagami) with text, 1800s

Muhammed Ali

The Poet Hafiz with Entertainers, 1700s

Ochiai Yoshiiku

Utsusemi: Watanabe no Tsuna, Chapter 3 from the series Modern Parodies of Genji (Imayō nazaroe Genji), 1864, 7th month

Baien

Courtesan, ca. 1825-1827

Iranian, Shiraz

Ornamental Page from a Manuscript, late 1500s

Baien

Two Albums of Verse, ca. 1825-1827

Naoko Matsubara

Untitled, 1978

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III)

Hotoke Gozen, Mirror of Virtuous and Wise Women (Kenjo Kagami), 1830s

Baien

Poem Card, ca. 1825-1827

Katsushika Hokusai

Ono no Komachi, 1810s

Iranian, Shiraz

Ornamental Page from a Manuscript, late 1500s

Indian, India

Emperor Babur Overseeing the Altering Course of a Stream, 1800s

Indian

Poem, 1700s

Indian

Portrait of a Lady, 1600s

Gujarat India

Leaf from a Jain Kalpasutra manuscript, 1800s

Gujarat India

Leaf from a Jain Kalpasutra manuscript, 1400s

Gujarat India

Leaf from a Jain Kalpasutra manuscript, 1400s

Japan

Page 24 from Volume 12 of Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), ca. 1600s

Japan

Printed Rubbing of Calligraphy Attributed to the Chinese General Yue Fei, 1700s-1800s

More objects +

Exhibition Checklist

Text, Paratext, and Images

September 1, 2020 - July 24, 2021
View Checklist PDF

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