ICON12

The defining characteristic of illustration is an association with reading from 1830. Illustration contributes to reading in partnership with other visual elements in the mise-en-page across all modern print cultures. Reading has changed. The ancient scroll was replaced by the codex but has returned in electronic form. Publishing has receded; newspapers and magazines are disappearing. Fewer commissions are on offer. Today, illustrators are embracing authorship. But creating an entire work transcends the binary of "word and image." An ancient version of transcendence was captured in the expression "the three perfections," attributed to Wang Wei (699-759), referring to poetry, painting, and calligraphy. The triad has been updated and reinvigorated to encompass copywriting, illustration, and typesetting or lettering. This presentation will use Wang’s concept and episodes in the history of illustration to address the integration of writing, illustration, and design to reclaim illustration as a practice worthy of emphasis in liberally-minded curricula.