Type communicates a message and fabricates its own world within what we are able to create with it. This is much like Jenny Holzer’s artwork, who uses type to communicate meaning. Words are bold and universal and are essential to our communication thus using them in an artistic manner manifests deeper levels to our ability of providing a message. Thus type and text has been harnessed by artists in order to create artwork but also commercial pieces alike to communicate a story which the viewer is able to picture. Such as Neville Brody who is a significant figure concerning Typography, applying visual language to different aspects of day to day human life is an essential in communicating intention and purpose to the consumer.

Hamish Fulton’s work is directly derived from walks that he takes, so it concerns his direct experiences. Using type to directly describe these experiences brings a personal element to his work as if he is speaking to the viewer. It is as if he is the viewer and simply describes what he experiences in nature, nature is the artwork, and what he produces is a reflection of what he has seen, essentially an output of his senses. This use of senses brings us into a more interactive piece where the viewer is asked to picture in their own mind what Fulton had experienced . This demonstrates how important type is to conjure emotions, by giving information through the form of type where the viewer uses their own mind.

It is clear that type is able to be used again and again, and it will always be the same. The focus is blatantly brought to the meaning of the text, rather than things such as symbolic meaning. It is literally spelled out before the viewer. However, humans are able to create messages with type that require deeper thought which is unique to that individual. It is fascinating how something which is linear such as a type and a word, is able to create such variation of abstract thoughts. This is most poignant in the work of Joseph Kosuth boils down this idea to its simplest form, his artwork literally is what it is, all the phrases within his work are tautologies.

Therefore when working on part of our project for text, when provided with some phrases I chose ‘So where are they’. To me this seemed the most significant concerning the artists own experiences and the viewers interpretations such as seen in Fulton’s work. Choosing to place this phrase on pictures which hold memories for myself in a bold linear type contrasts to the abstract thought process of the viewer and of the nature of my own memories. ‘So where are they’ links to how our memories are so fleeting, once we are gone so are our memories, where are they within the linear nature of time. The type holds a bold place within the pictures thus disregarding the transcience of them and highlighting their importance of those experiences to myself and their impact on my own mind. Such as Fulton’s own experiences of his walks being brief encounters yet he solidifies his message within type.