A to Z: Visualising Every Word in the Dictionary in Alphabetical Order

Dave Ball

About this exposition

This exposition focuses on my 35-year-long project to visualise every word in the Concise Oxford English Dictionary in alphabetical order, A to Z. Begun in 2011, the point of departure here is a particular moment in the unfolding of the project: the recent completion of the final D-word, “dystopia”. A to Z is premised upon the carrying out of a defined conceptual rule: a “tactically absurd” commitment to a lifetime of artistic effort, whose ostensible folly gives rise to an ever-expanding body of work that appears arbitrary, unwarranted, and nonsensical, but which, through its playful insistence, might also be understood as operating in a new and alternative realm of sense.

Den här expositionen fokuserar på mitt 35-åriga projekt att visualisera varje ord i Concise Oxford English Dictionary i alfabetisk ordning, från A till Z. Projektet påbörjades 2011, och utgångspunkten här är ett särskilt ögonblick i projektets utveckling: när jag nyligen slutförde det sista D-ordet, "dystopia". A till Z bygger på en definierad konceptuell regel: ett ”taktiskt absurt” engagemang för ett livslångt konstnärligt arbete, vars skenbara dårskap ger upphov till en ständigt växande samling verk som verkar godtyckliga, omotiverade och nonsensartade – men som genom sin lekfulla ihärdighet också upprättar nya meningssammanhang.

type	research exposition
keywords	absurdity, absurd, conceptual art, rule-based art, edurance art, performance, drawing, PHOTOGRAPHY
date	13/05/2022
published	17/11/2022
last modified	17/11/2022
status	published
affiliation	Humboldt University, Berlin / University of Southampton
copyright	Dave Ball
license	CC BY-NC-ND
language	British English
url	https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/1633591/1633592
doi	https://doi.org/10.22501/vis.1633591
published in	VIS - Nordic Journal for Artistic Research
portal issue	8. VIS Issue 8
external link	www.daveballartist.co.uk

name	aardvark-2600
copyright	Artist's own image
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	abacus
copyright	Artist's own image
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	abandonment
copyright	Artist's own image
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	abdomen
copyright	Artist's own image
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	abnormailty
copyright	Artist's own image
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	adversity
copyright	Artist's own image
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	Art Claims Impulse installation 1
copyright	Artist's own image
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	ACI 2
copyright	Artist's own image
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	ACI 3
copyright	Artist's own image
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	back-paper-tint3
copyright	Artist's own image
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	baboon-paper-tint0
copyright	Artist's own image
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	bachelor-paper-tint5
copyright	Artist's own image
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	Oldham 1
copyright	Artist's own image
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	Oldham 2
copyright	Artist's own image
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	cirrus
copyright	Artist's own image
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	cistern
copyright	Artist's own image
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	civility
copyright	Artist's own image
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	Oldham 3
copyright	Artist's own image
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	34oldham-cs10
copyright	Artist's own image
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	Dad-image
copyright	Artist's own image
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	Daffodil
copyright	Artist's own image
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	Day-image
copyright	Artist's own image
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	Dystopia
copyright	Artist's own image
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	backwardness-paper-tint5
copyright	Artist's own image
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

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A to Z: Visualising Every Word in the Dictionary in Alphabetical Order (2022)

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