
Art of Text Speak
Art of text speak - Are you confused by those TLAs or FLAs that materialise at the end of a text message? In case you are already discombobulated, TLAs are two or three letter acronyms and FLAs are four or five letter acronyms. No prizes for guessing what SLAs, ELAs and so on might mean. But you can give yourself a prize if you must.
Ever visualised how a person who is ROTFLMAOYSST (rolling on the floor laughing my ass off yet somehow still texting) might look? If that actually occurred, imagine the number of phones that would record the occasion and how quickly it would get onto every social media platform on the planet.
Ever wondered if the person writing LOL is really laughing out loud or simply adding that just to indulge you?
BTW (oops that should be by the way) LOL is generally not Lots of Love – unless of course you want it to be in which case don’t’ bother with LOL just add an ‘x’.
GOI aka get over it must be the most over used expression in the world.
It is the substance of movies, of songs; of every day conversations. You can even get self-appointed Agony Aunts to advise you on how to get over it.
So why not make GOI the subject of art! And now it is.
Exhibition Opening - The Art of Text Speak
One visitor to the exhibition asked why the dog and cat were chosen as the subject material. It could have something to do with the fact that a dog has just moved in! A real canine kind in case anyone is thinking differently. This is in fact true and she is busy devouring slippers. The laid back dog that lacks the inertia to do anything is very much the influence behind the piece – she gave paws for thought!! Bad joke but blame the dog as she did walk all over the canvas with her muddy paws. And the dog doesn’t do cats either – they are inclined to flee in fear at the sight of her – one really shouldn’t find this LOL amusing but it is.
Another visitor asked about the composition of LOL – laugh out loud. LOL does somewhat conjure up images of loudness, of megaphones, of razzmatazz and old style gramophones and HMV. Does anyone know what this TLA stands for - if you don’t go look it up as it might be useful for some quiz trivia. We all have friends who LOL and bring smiles to people’s faces. But are we doing that when we send a text? Are we really? The opportunity to play with the famous art piece his master’s voice just could not be resisted. Poor old Nipper the terrier dog gave way to the harlequin cat – to perhaps depict the muteness of LOL in text messages. If anyone is SITD about the meaning of HMV simply re-read the text.
SITD – still in the dark although one can be forgiven for interpreting this as sitting in the dark. Could SITD be the ultimate state of Utopia? A state of perpetual cluelessness where people can blissfully go about their daily business unawares of the world around them? Consider the number of life hours that could be saved trying to figure everything out? The ambiguity in the piece is deliberate. Who is in the dark – the individual or the world around them? The dude in the piece is either all-knowing or clueless and must be someone’s relative. Maybe the reason why people turn to WYWH #420 – 420 used here as an umbrella term.
WYWH #420 – we all seem to like to escape for a while, to zone out from the world. Some go off to a retreat others find comfort nearer home. BTW 420 is a computer error but this will only be of interest to geeks or word press developers - but let's not get distracted with 400 related errors. The simple question is why do we escape and how do we escape from the every day. Moving on and zoning out from this unnecessarily thought provoking piece, one form of escapism that most enjoy is a banquet or a big feast. AYCE banquet!
SITD – still in the dark although one can be forgiven for interpreting this as sitting in the dark.
Could SITD be the ultimate state of Utopia?
A state of perpetual cluelessness where people can blissfully go about their daily business unawares of the world around them?
WYWH #420 – do we like to escape for a while, to zone out from the world.
Some go off to a retreat others find comfort nearer home.
What is your WYWH #420?
More on The Art of Text Speak...
AYCE – all you can eat. Come on folks. Are we not a food obsessed nation? Feel free to disagree but just think about the most popular TV shows – Bake Off – we don’t even need to say Great British, Master Chef, Ready Steady Cook. We are surrounded by food programmes morning, noon and night. And you can bloat out on food blogs too. So it would not be faminous to exclude a food acronym in the collection. If it gets your gastric juices flowing then go eat your fill – YOLO.
AYCE – all you can eat. Come on folks. Are we not a food obsessed nation?
So surely it would be perilous not to have a food acronym in the collection.
If it gets your gastric juices flowing then go eat your fill – YOLO.
Thank you Ben for your comments – it was a pleasure talking you and your fellow year 8 pupils yesterday. You were all a real credit to your school and left me feeling that St Joseph’s school in Wrexham is doing a sterling job with their pupils.
I visited the international eisteddfod today,7th july 2016, and i felt that this art really had a meaning behind it my favorite is CRBT. it shows a lonely girl crying her heart out, she’s CRYING BIG TEARS and cant stop. when you think about it we’ve all been like this.
Thanks for visiting the exhibition – if you want to read the entire blog here is the link. https://www.adrenalinebrush.com/blog
LOL is popular with Cat Lovers and music lovers.
Enjoyed visiting the Art of Text Speak exhibition, really clever and thought provoking pieces that raise interesting questions about modern life and society. My particular favourite is LOL.
You make some really good points. Others seeing the piece may have a similar view. I will shortly be expanding on the blog but I think I said that a week ago. How time flies..value this precious resource as it truly is limited my friend.
Really fabulous ideas and I like the deeper explanations on your website
I’ve found YOLO particularily relevant to me and my recent reflections. So why do you think these two men are smiling in this way? Perhaps they have discovered something we are still yet to find out for ourselves? Maybe they know that the constant race to get somewhere, the constant stimulation doesn’t mean happiness? Maybe it’s just simply about being-ness? This is how this works speaks to me. What do you think?
Thanks for your kind words Niels – always nice to receive comments from Germany.
Love the business concept and website evolution Nellie. Your business is a flower that should bloom.
I felt the collection typifies some of the issues of contemporary life. I appreciated the many levels of the FOMO art piece in particular.
Hi Frances
Many thanks for your comments. Glad you were able to explore the multi-layered meaning to the pieces.
Ken
Very much enjoyed the Text Speak exhibition. It is interesting to discuss the works with other people, as there seem to be many ways to interpret them- there are so many layers to think about, beyond the images and acronyms themselves.
Thought provoking and beautiful.
Thanks for your comments Aleks
Hi Jayashreee
Thank you for visiting the exhibition. I’m really pleased that you like it.
Ken
2 April, ….Just visited Nellie’s exhibition entitled ” art of text speak” yesterday. Modern usage of Acronyms or ‘text speak ‘ is explained to the viewer and each piece of work is very unique, expressing in minimalist imagery the thoughts behind each Acronym. Very unusual subject matter but beautifully executed paintings. We were very impressed by the thought processes behind each work. Well done Nellie!
Jayashree x
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I love the works and how minimalistic they are. If you see it and just walk past, it means you just don’t get it. Very clever and witty 🙂