Women artists all differ in the specific visual presentation of their text based art, however it is important to asses the connection in that aesthetic aspect that connects them all. These formalistic aspect are indeed a part of the contextual analysis and serve as a building rock of a contextual narrative for my thesis. As Drucker (1994:45) insists on the materiality of the typographic sign as central in the process of making meaning:
“The force of stone, of ink, of papyrus, and of print all function within the signifying activity – not only because of their encoding in a cultural system of values whereby a stone inscription is accorded a higher stature than a typewritten memo, but because these values themselves come into being on account of the physical, material properties of these different media. Durability, scale, reflectiveness, richness and density of saturation and color, tactile and visual pleasure – all of these factor in –not as transcendent and historically independent universals, but as aspects whose historical and cultural specificity cannot be divorced from their substantial properties. The inherent physical properties of stuff function in the process of signification in intertwined but not determined or subordinate relation to their place within the cultural codes of difference where they also function.”
The element in this to explore further is juxtaposition or opposition in text based art making. In the artwork above, an important and serious message is presented in a neon medium that at first glance makes it fun and quirky. But this juxtaposition of message and the chosen medium, the opposition in the natures of those things is what is almost common to all women artists using text in one way or another. The use of juxtaposition as a tool to create a new meaning, a new voice for themselves.