call for papers diségno No. 16 - Drawing as a Language
Drawing as a Language
edited by Enrico Cicalò, Valeria Menchetelli
Drawing and graphic communication are two equivalent concepts; indeed, drawing always aims to convey a message through a language alternative to verbal expression, with its communicative implicit nature. Since this perspective was theorized 25 years ago by Manfredo Massironi, supporting his taxonomy of graphic production, the field of Drawing has evolved to become a research area which proposes not only representations and graphic translations but also projects and visual-graphic artefacts that respond to emerging needs in contemporary society. However, although this role has become central concerning the shifting demands of society, its roots remain deeply embedded in its original function as one of the most effective, versatile, and widespread forms of communication, enabling it to address some of the most complex challenges.
The reciprocal identification of drawing and language becomes evident not only in the stages of ideation, elaboration, and production of graphic-visual artefacts but generally in all design processes that require norms for communicating forms, which always culminate in a system of codified signs tailored to specific needs. In ‘shaping’ an artefact, one makes choices about graphic elements, their mutual relationships, the hierarchies established among them, the degree of iconicity, symbolic content, and morphological and expressive qualities. This selection process involves defining all the aspects that structure a linguistic system: alphabet, interpreted as the range of producible and perceivable signs; morphology, understood as a classification of signs into categories; syntax, regarded as a set of rules relevant to the structure and function of the signs; and semantics, defined as the association of meanings with the signs and their combinations.
In light of these considerations, issue 16 of the journal diségno aims to deepen the drawing as a language, exploring the origins, reasons, methods, and potential of this communicative nature that is central in the field of Drawing. This issue will gather contributions that explore multiple aspects of drawing as a language: theoretical, historical, and cultural; philosophical and epistemological; semantic, syntactic, and semiotic; technical and project-oriented; pedagogical and psycho-cognitive.
Contributions may take either a theoretical-critical or applied-project approach and could explore:
- the theory of drawing as a language, reflecting on current or past cultural themes and positions and proposing a theoretical interpretation;
- the history of drawing as a language, re-examining key phases and/or figures significant to the evolution of knowledge on the subject and placing them in today’s debate;
- the project of drawing as a language, highlighting the methodological and procedural aspects involved in encoding and defining a specific system of signs;
- the perspectives of drawing as a language, envisioning further potential advancements in communicative graphic tools within a transforming context.
Topic 1 Theory of Drawing as a Language
Topic 2 History of Drawing as a Language
Topic 3 Project of Drawing as a Language
Topic 4 Perspectives of Drawing as a Language
Abstract submission: November 30th, 2024
Notification of acceptance: December 30th, 2024
Full paper: February 15th, 2025
Notification of final acceptance: March 15th, 2025
Revised full paper in English: April 15th, 2025
