Words began to be used extensively by artists in the
1960s. The Conceptual artists used words to critique
language as well as what one sees. As the Conceptual
art practitioners moved on in the 1970s, a new use of
language emerged in art. When examining the use of
text as or in art from the 1970s through to the early
21st century, the gender of the artist appears to
play a role in the intention and application of the
text. While male artists continue to focus on
language itself - continuing in the methods of the
Conceptualists, and many of them the original
Conceptualists - women artists are generally
concerned with the message conveyed by those words,
whether alone or in conjunction with imagery. Does
the gender of the artist hint at the intention and
the use of the text? Does gender play a role in
whether the use of language will focus on the word as
art medium or as the message conveyed?