When one thinks of the ordinary painting, animation, or photo, they most likely will not think of there being any form of text within the work. They are not wrong to initially think this, as most works of art (especially from the past) do not tend to include text within the works.
However, as of recent, there have been a plethora of text being added to a piece to improve the message or overall theme of an artwork. Within art, text tends to take the place of visual metaphors or symbols in pieces. This can be because of personal preference, to simplify the meaning, or because the artist can think of no better way to convey their message than that of a specific statement or command. This does not mean text is a lazy or thoughtless artist's crutch, but rather that it is just another tool to add to one's arsenal. Furthermore, the freedom of choice that comes with adding text to art is a challenge altogether. Whereas certain visual metaphors may have only a few ways to get a message across, text in art contains the entirety of any language known to man. The mere possibilities of choice means that audiences should pay special attention to word choice, sentence structure, who is saying it (if it is a quote), and where the text is placed on the piece. With so many choices, the artist is most likely providing almost exactly what they wanted with their word choice.
If there is one specific genre of art that includes text, and one that specifically emphasizes this idea of subverting the norms, look no further than that of street art. Think about Shepard Fairey's iconic "Hope"
poster that is tantamount to that of the logo for Barack Obama's legacy. While it started as a simple piece of paper for Shepard to place wherever he wanted, its meaning to communities sky rocketed his piece to country-wide known image it is today. When viewing Shepard Fairey's work, it is obvious that the piece would not carry the same meaning without the caption of "Hope." It quite literally provides the meaning in the most straightforward fashion possible. Not only can the message not be misconstrued, but the simple yet blunt nature of connecting the term hope to the likeness of Obama is a bold statement to say the least.
Personal Usage
As a filmmaker, using text within my films can mean different things. Obviously, incorporating text into my film will probably happen whether I like it or not. Credits, signs, shirt logos, and other various objects that are in my shots will include text. This text, however, only adds to the environment of my shots. The "Adidas" title on my main character's shirt will only provide the idea that my student is a normal person who wears normal clothes. On the other hand, if I were to make text the focus of my shots, now there is a lot more figurative meaning to that shot. If I have a shot of my character looking sad, and then the word "Pain" starts popping up in various parts of the shot, this idea of pain becomes a tangible force that is affecting my character. Personally, I have not had any specific strikes of inspiration as I've researched the subject.
Here is a video on how filmmakers will use text messaging as a part of the shots for actual movies:
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