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The Search for Depth in
Two Dimensions
For at least 3,000 years, the visual representation
of human language has shifted back and forth between
the graphic and the glyphic, the written and the carved.
Graphic forms may flex or bend, but in principle they
are confined to two dimensions. Glyphic forms are carved
as a rule in low relief: a little more than two dimensions
but never fully three. Yet scribes and typographers,
like writers, painters and set designers, have repeatedly
sought to break the spell of the surface and bring a
sense of depth to what they do. Does the digital world
have to remain as superficial as it often seems? Robert
Bringhurst is a poet, typographer, historian and linguist,
known to most through his book The Elements of Typographic
Style. Bringhurst will participate in a signing
session for his new book, The Solid Form of Language.
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