“As a backlash to the constant word scroll of new media and its online counterparts, we’re likely to see both painting and multimedia work move in a text-free direction. The last two decades have used text — whether scrolling like Holzer or scrawled like Emin or collaged like Ligon — as a primary conceit. And as much as we like the aforementioned artists, we’re looking forward to the possibility of a little radio silence. After all, you know what they say about pictures (worth a thousand…).”
—
Flavorwire’s 2010 and Beyond: Trends in Contemporary Art
Really? You are going to categorize the last 20 years as the time of text? This overgeneralization hurts my brain so much I can’t even think of where to begin. Text definitely has increased in popularity, but if you look back at the growth and increasing popularity of artists like Ryan McGinley and the auction prices of artists like Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami and Yue Menjin, I don’t feel that anything was overwhelmingly text to the point where we need “radio silence”. Maybe I’m biased. Maybe I just don’t like sweeping generalizations. Either way.
