Intertwining verbal and visual elements in printed narratives for adults

Abstract

In the course of print history only a few successful models of image and word-alliances (e.g., comics, picture books) developed, while other types remained rather marginal. This article tries to argue why such different and experimental works as What a Life! (Lucas and Morrow, 1911), La Prose du Transsibrien et de la petite Jehanne de France/Prose of the Trans-Siberian and of Little Jehanne of France (Cendars and Delaunay, 1913), Dynamik der Gross-Stadt/Dynamics of a Metropolis (Moholy-Nagy, 1925), La Cantatrice Chauve/The Bold Soprano (Ionesco and Massin, 1964), La Toilette/The Cleaning (Charras, Robial and Montellier, 1983) or Narratology (Drucker, 1994) in fact belong to a separate but cohesive body of works. Though individual works of this newly defined group of image and word-narratives may share some characteristics with better known models (as those of comics or picture books for children), as a group they use far more extensively typographic manipulations and special layouts, they experiment more freely with varying styles and they can redesign the object of the book itself. The image and word prototype books created in a workshop at a Flemish art school will serve here as a case study.