Text In Contemporary Art

Should art's aim be to express things through visual language (some people think so)? If so, is using text a cheap shortcut?

(Ed Ruscha)

To read:
Writing on the Wall: Word and Image in Modern Art - Simon Morley
Art, Word and Image: 2,000 Years of Visual/Textual Interaction - John Dixon Hunt, David Lomas, Michael Corris
Art and Text - Dave Beech, Charles Harrison, Will Hill, Aimee Selby
http://www.tate.org.uk/artist-rooms/collection/theme-text-and-language
http://www.artequalstext.com/