From 'text messages' to real ones

"Yes'' (hand-punched, found paint chips and mixed media) by Peter Combe, in the group show "Text Messages,'' at Lanoue Gallery, Boston, through Oct. 14. The gallery says:"Text-based artwork requires engaged, not passive, viewers who bring a sense of…

"Yes'' (hand-punched, found paint chips and mixed media) by Peter Combe, in the group show "Text Messages,'' at Lanoue Gallery, Boston, through Oct. 14. The gallery says:

"Text-based artwork requires engaged, not passive, viewers who bring a sense of curiosity and personal experience to the interpretation of each work. Like the now pervasive use of sending short bursts of words to one another through mobile devices, the artworks in 'Text Messages' primarily rely on visually 'bite-size' but carefully chosen words to both efficiently and impactfully communicate ideas, thoughts, or emotions to its receiver. Each work assumes a kind of communication shorthand with the viewer based on a perceived common experience shared through our hyper-connected lives on a variety of social media platforms. A gallery art exhibition of these physical objects, however, allows the sharing of these 'text messages' to happen among its viewers in a shared physical space, potentially sparking real-time, face-to-face conversations.