Intro

Much of Nean’s work, such as his textile sculptures, which generally combine materials from different cultures and eras, is being completed over a period of time. The volumes of poetry in this section are no exception. They were first composed with a graphic layout that belonged to the versification process. However, when revisiting these poems, Nean decided to establish a stronger contrast between word and image, one that could stimulate immediate access to a text’s symbolic content. With Gutenberg’s printing revolution, the West enforced a systematic separation between art and literature which, as so many Mediaeval illuminated manuscripts demonstrate, the alphabet alone had not fully achieved. Nean’s arTPoetry experiments with complementarities between text and visual form, a primarily oriental idea. It is indeed the Chinese language, that has fostered an unrivalled degree of accomplishment in the combined practices of writing and painting, anchored in its pictogrammatic origin. Nevertheless, Western interests in visualising language have also made their mark through the centuries; Baroque pictorial poetry, Romantic illustrations and Dadaist typographic collages, notably by George Herbert, William Blake and Kurt Schwitters, are prime examples of a meaningful contribution.

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