From Michael Winkler's introduction:
Ferdinand de Saussure's belief that the signs for our words are arbitrary has
become a cornerstone of modern linguistics. It has influenced contemporary
philosophical thought to the extent that some theorists now believe all
meaningful aspects of perception are arbitrary cultural constructs. Yet, the
logic of Saussure's belief is based solely on the nonexistence of any proof to
the contrary. My challenge to Saussure's assumption of arbitrariness is not
based on theory. It is based on observation of a rigorously produced visual
transformation of orthography.
To create a spatial transformation of the linear patterning of spelling,
I organize the letters of the Roman Alphabet into a fixed, circular
arrangement (built around a pentagonal symmetry of vowels); consequently,
when lines are drawn between the letter-points in the sequence of the
spelling of words, geometric forms or patterns are created.
For the proofs of the project, click here: http://www.winklerwordart.com/TheArbitrarySign
For more on Winkler's work, click here: http://www.winklerwordart.com/Index.html
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