Conceptual Art
Conceptual art emerged as a movement during the 1960s. It was a reaction against formalism and against the commodification of art. It tried to rebel against the gallery or museum as the location and determiner of art, and the art market as the owner and distributor of art.
Conceptual artists emphasized the ideas underlying works of art, often as a protest against the commercialism of the art world. They often used photos, text, etc. to document an action or even, or to express ideas.
The main difference between a conceptualist installation and a traditional work of art is that the conceptualist's work may require little or no physical talent in its execution, while traditional art requires physical skill and the making of aesthetic choices. As Tony Godfrey has put it, conceptual art is an art which questions the very nature of what is understood as art.
The French artist Marcel Duchamp may be considered the father of the conceptual art. His works, such as readymades, are perfect examples of prototypically conceptual works. The most famous readymade by Duchamp was Fountain, which was in fact a plain urinal signed by the artist with the pseudonym "R. Mutt".
Some of the famous American conceptual artists are:
- Robert Rauschenberg - in 1961 he sent a telegram to the Galerie Iris Clert which said: 'This is a portrait of Iris Clert if I say so.' as his contribution to an exhibition of portraits
- Robert Morris - he made pieces that directly responded to Duchamp’s (‘’Box with the Sound of its Own Making’’ (1961), ‘’Fountain’’ (1963)
- Yoko Ono in 1964 publishes Grapefruit: A Book of Instructions and Drawings
- Joseph Kosuth - One and Three Chairs (1965). The presentation consists of a chair, its photo and a blow up of a dictonary definitions of the word "chair"
- Sol LeWitt - article Paragraphs on Conceptual Art (1967)
- Lawrence Weiner - article Declaration of Intent (1968)
- Robert Barry - Telepathic Piece (1969) of which he said 'During the exhibition I will try to communicate telepathically a work of art, the nature of which is a series of thoughts that are not applicable to language or image'.
|
