The Argument for a Semiotic Approach to Shape Writing: The Case of Italian Futurist Typography

Authors

  • John J. White

Abstract

Using futurist poetic experiments as its demonstration object, this paper explores what advantages a semiotic approach has in the investigation of shaped writing. The examples considered are seen to belong to the class of iconic signs, and the concept of iconicity is shown to offer both a more systematic and differentiating method of analyzing their constituent parts than the traditional mimetic model did. Consideration is given to the way in which Gestalt psychology has modified the definition of iconicity to take account of codes of recognition and graphic conventions. Examples of such codes and conventions are explored and attention is paid to the signaling of new codes within an innovative work. Finally, the relationship between the signification of dynamism in futurist painting and poetry is compared in order to show how a semiotic model is able to distinguish between iconic, conventionalized, and codified elements; particular attention is paid here to the accommodation of iconic effects to the medium of print.

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Published

1976-01-01

Issue

Section

Journal Article