许多人都危言耸听地说书即将消亡。如今文字找到了新的传播方式和手段，年轻人可能逐渐开始回避写作。在数字时代，文本变成了信息，而信息则努力变得自由。但是，文本在视觉艺术领域能拥有什么价值？这样的文本与诗歌有什么不同？诗歌本身可以是视觉艺术吗？还是说，在这种情况下，文本已经被置于噱头和口号的范畴？在探讨众多艺术家——包括布鲁斯•瑙曼、朱利安•布雷顿、杰里米•戴勒、村上隆、特蕾西•艾敏、克里斯蒂安•波尔坦斯基等等——的作品的过程中，《文字即艺术》对这些问题逐一进行了研究，其首先断言的一件事是，在数字和网络时代，文字已经变得比以往任何时候都更加重要。

There has been much scaremongering about the 'death of the book', and how, as words find new ways and means of transmission, young people might gradually begin to shun writing. In the digital age, text becomes information, and information strives to become free. But what value can text hold in the sphere of visual art? How is such text different from poetry? Can the poetic itself be visual art, or is text in this context consigned to the realms of gimmick and catchphrase? Looking at the work of a broad range of artists including Bruce Nauman, Julien Breton, Jeremy Deller, Takashi Murakami, Tracey Emin, Christian Boltanski and many more, The Word is Art examines each of these questions, contending above all that in the digital and online age, words have become more important than ever.