Works of art are visual transformations and visual conveyors of a specific mindset in the world. The capability of the work of art to produce and communicate meaning does not occur independently of natural language (everyday language). The meaning and conceptual aspect of the artwork, which is a signifier, is always wrapped up with language. The connection that the artwork has with language is not simply limited to its manifest aspect (its meaning). Both historically and currently, writing itself, which is a lingual indicator, has been used in the medium of painting in different ways and for different purposes. Writing as a lingual indicator was included in contemporary art practices after 1960 in different ways and for different purposes. Lingual signifiers began to garner greater importance than visual signifiers in art practices after 1960. As artists began to utilize alternative art materials, conceptual artists such as Ludwig Wittgenstein, Ferdinand de Saussure and Roland Barthes began to be influenced by the theories of linguists and semioticians. A greater number of questions began to be asked at the fundamental level in terms of theory and meaning that related to language and semiotics, both in respect of the works’ formal aspects, which comprise their material dimension, and the creative process. The impact of art practices, wherein the relationships between works of art and language took on a new dimension, were felt intensely at this stage. In this study, we will attempt to illustrate the relationship between the work of art and language on the basis of the signified aspect of art (its meaning) and the signified aspect of art, which comprises its formal dimension, in terms of the use of lingual signifiers (writing).

Keywords: Work of art, language, writing