Copy Art

The way that we prioritize things in life matters. Order matters.

Our society is choosing imagery over writing. Photos. Professional photography. Logos. Icons. Infographics. Signs. Imagery. Your image.

We have personally and socially embraced our natural connection to seeing and creating images, but reading and writing are seemingly being left behind—artifacts of the pre-cell phone generation. We don’t read with our full attention; we browse. We rarely write in full sentences, and sparingly share what we write. In general, the less we write ourselves and read, the less we inherently respect words. And that has major consequences. 

Image has become everything. And today, your image is seemingly independent of what you say, which was traditionally backed by what you did. Unfortunately, this has become the norm in our own lives and is now reflected in other areas of society. For instance, it’s at the point where politicians can say whatever they want and then take it back, but as long as their image is in tact, then no harm done. By not holding ourselves accountable, we give others permission to do the same.

We’re losing our relationship with words, to the point where spoken word is just filler for silence. We’re not being careful with the things we say. Words are losing their meaning, their weight.

Where can we look to for hope? Comics and graphic novels. Where words and images work in harmony with each other. A frame’s power, the sum of art and copy. And for the written word, it’s a beautiful, romantic notion of how what you say is a reflection of who you are.

To reverse that balance is to see who you are as derivative of what you say (what you write). To re-present what was already there. To represent a hopeful shift in how we as society can rethink the literary and visual balance. With the switch, a frame can reach the same emotions—just in different ways.

Many writers know what it’s like when the words write themselves. Words don’t always come from people. Sometimes they are one and the same.