tXt me;-) Denis Brown, 2006, 22 x 26 cm, 8" x 10" SOLD

Click in image for an enlargement to open in a new window

3 sheets of etched glass over a painted background paper. The characters of 'tXt me ;-)' are acid etched over the 6 glass surfaces in 3D (3 sheets front and back) . The cursive layers of writing beneath are also spaced over the glass layers in 3D. The text here is the opening words of St John's Gospel, written in Latin with abbreviations typical of medieval Irish manuscripts. The paper background features a grid of pixelated letters (u, n, N E) rendered in gouache and shell gold over a one-off digital print. The work playfully juxtaposes abbreviated text from modern and ancient cultures.

Click in image for an enlargement to open in a new window

Artist's comment
Some have expressed concern at the degradation of language implicit in the modern cell-phone cult of SMS text messaging, (eg., see poem quoted below). However this is nothing new since the scribes of old also used this labor saving device. The TYRONIAN NOTES is a system of shorthand reputedly developed by Cicero's secretary Tyro, which continued to be used in medieval manuscripts for economy of labor and parchment. Super-scripting, macron bars and other abbreviations were used to significantly reduce texts. The nomina sacra (sacred names)  were always abbreviated, IHS XPS for Iesus Christus, DNS for Dominus etc. Beyond this some scribes were playfully creative in their own abbreviations. Francis Byrne cites an amusing example in his introduction to Timothy O'Neill's The Irish Hand: 'The personal name Dáibhídh (David in Irish, pronounced Daw-veeh) could be written .v.v.' (Dá .v. means 'two vs' in Irish). This phonetic simulation would certainly save a lot of time in transcribing a psalter, where David is written so often!

txt also bcumz a verb n d 21st centRe, & since getin my 1st mobile onlE recntly, DIS calligrapher hz regularly Bin txtD!
Text also becomes a verb in the twenty first century, and since getting my first mobile (cell) phone only recently, this calligrapher has regularly been texted!

txtin iz messin,
mi headn'me englis,
try2rite essays,
they all come out txtis.
gran not plsed w/letters shes getn,
swears i wrote better
b4 comin2uni.
&she's african
Hetty Hughes, quoted from http://books.guardian.co.uk/textpoetry/story/0,12586,829988,00.html

Purchase Details: SOLD
Price: € 299 (Euros)
includes picture framing

If you wish to purchase, please e-mail me:

©2006 Denis Brown |  www.quillskill.com