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The transformation from text superimposed over an unconnected background image in the figure–ground mode into the linked relationship of the calligram mode depends on an audience recognition of a seemingly direct, immanent connection between the text and image. This link is the product of a formal structure that exploits conventions familiar from children’s picture books: an image of an object, such as an apple, is accompanied by a short, declarative text in the manner of a caption—a word stating “APPLE”—identifying that object. This pairing of word::image is the calligram: the text shifts meaning following its identification as being a “label.” Books containing calligrams are used to teach reading to children because they enable the association ...
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