Illegible Writing: Michaux, Masson and Dotremont

Kawakami, Akane (2011) Illegible Writing: Michaux, Masson and Dotremont. Modern Language Review 106 (2), pp. 388-406. ISSN 0026-7937.

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Abstract

This article examines the reasons for the collective fascination, among painters and writers of the 1950s, with the materiality of the sign. It analyses forms of illegible writing invented by Henri Michaux, André Masson, and Christian Dotremont, showing how these creations undermine the visual/scriptural and abstract/figurative dichotomies, and challenge the viewer's preconceptions about the act of reading and the creation of meaning. The article concludes that these artists constitute, together with many others of the period, a second wave of Modernism which sets itself against the dominance of postmodernism in the ensuing years.

Item Type:	Article
School or Research Centre:	Birkbeck Schools and Research Centres > School of Arts > European Cultures and Languages
Depositing User:	Dr Akane Kawakami
Date Deposited:	17 Oct 2012 07:02
Last Modified:	17 Apr 2013 12:33
URI:	http://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/5294

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