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Robert Cottingham, Art, Lithograph. Eckert Fine Art Gallery + Art Consulting. Click to inquire

The inclusion of text within an artwork can jarringly disrupt our attention away from pictorial representations. In its blend of multiple artistic forms, artwork with text provokes its viewers in its ciphers. Notoriously ambiguous, these messages often delightfully juxtapose their accompanying images, as in early 20th century collages, represented in this post by DADA artist Marcel Duchamp. In this form, the artwork seemingly teases its audience in its overt randomness.

Marcel Duchamp, Pasadena Art Museum. Eckert Fine Art Gallery + Art Consulting. Click to inquire

However, the use of text in works of art can capture its audience's serious attention in profoundly poetic pieces, as illuminated by Edward Ruscha, whose stark use of blocked letters dominate canvases in their simplicity.

Edward Ruscha, Desert Gravure. Jonathan Novak Contemporary Art. Click to inquire

Ed Ruscha, Los Francisco San Angeles (Melrose/Market), 2001, Etching. Leslie Sacks Contemporary. Click to inquire

In a modern world filled with advertising catch phrases, the abundance of text-based canvases sinuously complements our everyday interaction with words. However, these canvas' unfinished sentences ultimately challenge our perception of a word's meaning in a new artistic context.

Raymond Pettibon, Untitled (Snap...), from Plots on Loan I, 2000, Lithograph. Leslie Sacks Contemporary. Click to inquire

Robert Cottingham, Aqua Star, Oil silkscreen on canvas. Rosenbaum Contemporary Gallery. Click to inquire

Andy Warhol, Van Heusen. Jonathan Novak Contemporary Art. Click to inquire