The visual output of Californian artists has, for over half a century, embraced the written word as the site for aesthetic play. Spanning painting, drawing, printmaking, and more, Public Texts: A Californian Visual Language brings together more than twenty artists rooted in the state who play with the boundary between language and image as a central component of their visual practice. Through a lyrical, playful, and colorful use of text, their artworks revel in local and regional influences, including hand-painted signage, music, automobile culture, graffiti, activism, and technology, reflecting the unique cultural space of the Golden State.