Preview

Conceptual Art

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1375 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Conceptual Art
Conceptual Art – Essay

”In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work. When an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all if the planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair. The idea becomes a machine that makes the art.” (Sol LeWitt, Artforum 1967, Paragraphs on Conceptual Art.)

Conceptual art is a form of art where the idea is the most important aspect and the product or work of art, if there is any at all, takes a backseat. This art movement was most prominent from 1965-75. Throughout this essay I will be discussing how conceptual art was developed and then I will be focusing on the practises of contemporary conceptual artists Sol LeWitt.

Conceptual art was a positive reaction to the work of Marcel Duchamp. Duchamp, a French artist, was one of the first artists we now call conceptualists. His most famous art piece was a pre-made urinal he named Fountain (1917) and was signed by the clever pseudonym “R.Mutt” which was derived from the Mott plumbing company’s name and a popular comic at the time. Duchamp submitted his piece in an exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists in New York but it was rejected because he did not make the piece. Duchamp’s practises at the time included collecting aesthetically neutral objects that we use every day, which he would sometimes modify, or combined two objects together. He wanted people to see these objects in a new light; he wanted to make people see that it didn’t matter whether he made the object and that the most important thing was that he chose that object for a reason. (Gardner) “I wanted to put art once again in the service of the mind.” This quote from Duchamp sums up his ideas on art quite well. (Blonde)

During the 1960’s conceptual art really began to become a movement in it’s own right. One of the things conceptual art was reacting against was the New York School, which was an art school that was focused on



Bibliography: Paul Wood, Conceptual Art, Tate Publishing London 2002 pp30-48 Blond Simon 2009, lecture delivered September 2009 at Curtin University Perth as part of the course Introduction to Visual Culture 191. (Blond. 2009) In text Kimmelman, M. 2007. The New York Times: Art & Design. http://nytimes.com/2007/04/09/arts/design/09lewitt.html (accessed October 2, 2009) (Kimmelman. 2007) In text 2009. Sol LeWitt: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sol_lewitt. (accessed October 2, 2009)

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Conceptual Art

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Conceptual Art maybe defined as a concept or art movement that came about the 1960’s as a reaction towards formalism. Where in art theory, formalism is a concept where an artwork or piece’s entire artistic value is based purely on its form and visual aspects. For example, American essayist/art critic, Clement Greenberg suggested the notion that art should examine its own nature and was already a potent aspect of vision of Modern art during the 1950’s. However with the mergence of conceptual artists such as Joseph Kossuth, Lawrence Weiner and many more, a far more radical interrogation of art than was previously done began. One of the first and most important things they questioned was the common assumption that the role of the artist was to create special kinds of material objects (Osborne 2002, 232). This essay will discuss as to why and how did Conceptual artists disagreed with the statement of formalism and set out to destroy or undermine the value of physical pleasure in art’s making and reception.…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Art 101 Week 1 Assignment

    • 582 Words
    • 3 Pages

    An artist can create art work through a creative process. An element of this process is critical thinking. Artists’ creativity process begins with seeing. It then goes from seeing to imagining and from imagining to making (Sayre, 2009). This essay will provide an explanation of artists’ roles. The essay will also include two chosen works of art, one of which embodies the role of the artist and the other holds symbolic significance requiring the application of iconography.…

    • 582 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Del Kathryn Barton

    • 484 Words
    • 2 Pages

    | Practice:Conceptual: * Drawings are the product of her relationship and interest with mankind. * Intentionally making it explicit or titillating * Imaginary world * The fluidity between the real and the imaginary is her central concern as an artist.…

    • 484 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Modern Art Movement evolved around the turn of the late 1800’s through the turn of the 20th century, to the late 1900’s. Visual Art in Western society moved from naturalism to abstraction during this time, and emphasis was placed on the Design Elements and Principles rather than representation. Modern Art was influenced by the invention of Photography as it freed artists from the constraints of realism.…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    References: Doss, E. (2002, April). Oxford History of Art: Twentieth-Century American Art. Cary, NC, USA: OUP Oxford. Retrieved from ebrary, 289…

    • 1588 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Surrealist Art

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The early 20th century is known for its systematic deflation of the traditional rules of Western art. Artists of this era overthrew long held conventions in a series of movements, all arising before 1920. For example Cubists created new styles of composition in painting as well as sculpture. Fauvists and Expressionists attacked traditional notions of pictorial representations through brushwork and bright colors. This is referred to as the style of abstraction. Abstract Expressionists attempted to reconstruct this style of art as a result of the major changes that were happening worldwide. The early 20th century was a dark time for Western civilization especially. In the time of World War I as well as World War II, many artists gave their art a deeper social significance. Most European artists in the immediate postwar period used their art to come to terms in some ways with what they had experienced. There were two primary ways that artists went about their art during this time; some enjoyed the aspect of figural styles while others proposed abstract art (Stokstad 1128).…

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Unit 1 Discussion

    • 337 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Understanding art forms affects individuals in different ways. Such as, informing individual’s art is in the eye of the beholder. It also depends on the art piece—how the viewer interprets the piece. Art comes in all shapes, sizes, and forms, and no art form should be held above another…

    • 337 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Art Concepts are a way of explaining a story or design through music, film, pictures, clips, or paintings. in order to understand certain art developments and styles. There are many different art forms, but watching a film or looking at pictures helps determine which art style it is and possibly whom it is from. Artists who wanted to create something that moved them emotionally, and mentally develop Art. They also wanted the art to be presented and for viewers to feel how they do and for them to be known through their art style. When one looks at a painting, just by the style the artist is recognized. There are also artists’ that like to interpret the original artists into their own work such as appropriation. Appropriation is an art concept…

    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Johnson, Ellen H. Modern Art and the Object. New York: Harper & Row Publishers. 1976.…

    • 927 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sporre, D. J. (2010). Artistic Styles in the Emerging Modern World. In D. J. Sporre, Reality Through the Arts (7 ed., p. 292). Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Andy Warhol Biography

    • 752 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Bibliography: 1. "Warhol, Andy," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. 2. "Pop Art and Consumer Culture" Christin J. Mamiya, University of Texas Press, Austin First Edition 1992. 3. "Art Forms" Duane Preble, Sarah Preble, and Patrick Frank, Sixth Edition 1998.…

    • 752 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Visual art plays on our perceptions of the meanings we associate with images, form, color, and their context. Our perceptions are very subjective. The author states that “We construct the meaning of things through the process of representing them.” This idea relates directly to my process of art-making and personal discovery. By making, my unconscious mind and my conscious mind work simultaneously through my hands. It is only through this process and by subsequently distancing myself from the work to observe the product of my labor that I am able to label and assign meaning to the imagery that has been revealed to me.…

    • 821 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Conceptual Framework refers to a more broad examination of the artwork citing four categories under which there are questions to be asked of the artist and their art. These are World, Artwork (analysis, interpretation and evaluation), Artist (the artists role) and audience (the audiences criticism).…

    • 613 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Everyone has his/her own personal views of art. Art surrounds our lives on a daily basis, and has been around since the beginning of time. There has been many famous artists throughout history including, Vincent Van Gogh, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Picasso. These people, along with others, sculpted the idea of visual art as we know it today. Art movements begin with an idea for a painting, followed by the process of putting that idea onto a canvas. Other artists see this painting and decide to “copy-cat” it.…

    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Grapefruit is an artist’s book written by Yoko Ono, originally published in 1964. It has become famous as an early example of conceptual art, containing a series of “event scores” that replace the physical work of art, the traditional stock-in-trade of artists, with instructions that an individual may, or may not, wish to enact. It’s a book of art, though it doesn’t contain any photographs of Ono’s completed art work. It’s poetry and it’s a collage. Ultimately, it’s a book of instructions, instructions for you, the reader, to create your own conceptual art. Grapefruit is one of the monuments of conceptual art of the early 1960s and still a prominent example of 1960s conceptual art and abstract thought, Ono has a lyrical, poetic dimension that…

    • 216 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays