"Needless parallels" : the visual aesthetic of language in the art and poetry of the Arensberg salon

The Arensberg salon in New York in the 1910s brought together European and American artists and poets as well as individuals from other disciplines. Just as representatives from both sides of the Atlantic were able to mingle in the group, the work of artists and poets seemed to merge as shared ideas and mutual stimuli from the salon were incorporated into the creative works of participants. Promoting a consciousness of words and verbal communication because its international make-up, the salon highlighted the importance of language. Artists and poets responded to their social setting by exploring the visual possibilities of language in image and verse. This thesis examines the art and poetry that displays the participants' probing of the visual nature of words and the magazines like Rogue, Others, A Magazine of New Verse and The Blind Man that helped stimulate the interest, development and experimentation of the visual aesthetic of words by the artists and poets in the Arensberg salon.