Monday 27 May 2013

Square Word Calligraphy

The Chinese artists Xu Bing plays with words and characters. One example is a project called Square Word Calligraphy.

The blurb on this project from his website:

"Square Word Calligraphy is a new kind of writing, almost a code, designed by Xu Bing. At first glance it appears to be Chinese characters, but in fact it is a new way of rendering English. Chinese viewers expect to be able to read it but cannot. Western viewers, however, are surprised to find that they can read it. Delight erupts when meaning is unexpectedly revealed."

An example below. 


A rough translation: Baa Baa Black Sheep have you any wool yes sir yes sir three bags full one for my master one for my dame but none for the little boy who lives(?) in the lane