its components are quickly enumerated. structure, language, space, form, idea and text. they form a unity. structure as a creative principle of order. language is purpose, game, tripwire, object and content. space emphasises existing elements, makes them stand out. form decides on image and detail. the idea owns the space in which it creates. the text is everything, material, building block, clay and colour. as letter, sign, number, word, sequence of words or sentences.
some could be called concrete poetry, visual poetry, word pictures, text pictures, constellations, ideograms, interdisciplinary work or conceptual poetry. in any case, they are visual texts. they play and work with language, with meanings, proverbs, vary the familiar, make the inherent obvious, show patterns, establish cross-connections. through reduction and minimalism, word and sign structures are created: as little text as possible, as much as necessary. the empty space writes with, it is essential. the square is the ideal format, scalable in relation, as text, image, word sculpture, wall installation, haptic or digital.
new things are emerging. emoticons, emojis, chats, social media: they are changing our language, influencing the written word and the way we express ourselves. new auxiliary constructs are intended to avoid misunderstandings, bridge distances, supplement missing tone of voice. visual texts make use of this dynamic by placing the word and its meaning at the centre of attention. the visual supports us in approaching the essence of language, in maintaining a conscious approach to it.
language is essential. only if we use it meaningfully can we expect progress from thought processes. the crisis of our language, between fake news and framing, is omnipresent. it threatens our ability to perceive facts correctly. visual texts oppose this. they encourage us to pay attention to language and its individual parts.