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Conceptual Art was brought into existence
during the 1960s by Marcel Duchamp, (1887-1968), a French-born artist
and a leader of the modern movement in art. He influenced and challenged
the traditional definition of art through his unconventional approach
by mixing together simple everyday objects and calling it art. Otherwise
known as "ready-made art", this form has continued to be an
influence even in today's world.
One of Duchamp's infamous and controversial pieces was titled 'Fountain'.
It consisted of a common urinal and he signed with the name "R. Mutt".
"The most important and complex work of Duchamp's career is the
unfinished The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even, sometimes known
as the Large Glass. In this work of oil paint, wire, and lead foil enclosed
in glass, Duchamp explored such themes as sexuality and the increasing
mechanization of human life."
"Some conceptual artists worked with industrial materials.
Carl Andre employed bricks, squares of metal, and other materials that
spread over the floor or ground, usually in flat, rectangular patterns
as in 144 Magnesium Squares (1969, Tate Gallery, London). Explaining what
he had done, Andre wrote that his work “is atheistic because it is
without transcendent form, without spiritual or intellectual qualities;
materialistic because it is made out of its own materials without pretension
to other materials; and communistic because the form is equally accessible
to all men.” Dan Flavin used fluorescent light tubes in different
colors, displayed vertically or in various configurations, to transform
visually the space they illuminated. These works, as a result, extend
beyond the physical object into the onlooker's space, as in Monument for
V. Tatlin (1969, Tate Gallery), which pays homage in its composition to
the Russian constructivist sculptor Vladimir Tatlin. In some of Flavin's
works, the lights flash rhythmically on and off. The work of Andre and
Flavin also falls into the category of minimal art, sculpture and painting
based on geometric modules or other simple units. Sculptor Donald Judd,
who created elegant and austere metal boxes of polished metal and Plexiglas,
was a leader of the minimal movement. "
"Conceptual art even encompassed nature and natural forces, and
some artists brought art out of the gallery through what became known
as earthworks or earth art. Earth art was constructed within and in harmony
with the landscape and ordinarily lasted only a limited time before natural
processes wore it away. One of the best-known earthworks is Spiral Jetty,
created in Utah in 1970 by Robert Smithson. After having 6,000 tons of
earth deposited in the Great Salt Lake, Smithson built upon this layer
a graceful, narrow coil out of black rock and salt crystals. This coil
or spiral jetty, which extended into the lake, was 4.6 m (15 ft) wide
and 457 m (1,500 ft) long. The presence of the jetty altered the viewer's
experience of the lake. Although rising water submerged the jetty soon
after its completion, photographs and drawings of it remain as documentation."
I suppose one can say that conceptual art can be brought
about by a 10 year old. Through a diorama or perhaps through one's parents
handing this 10 year old simple objects and telling that youngster to
express their feelings through such items. With objects in hand and a
container of glue, I think this youngster could do a fine job. That is
Conceptual Art.
To further stress how much of an influence Conceptual
Art has had on present day life, all you need to do in NYC is walk through
the streets and you'll find plenty of examples displayed in the streets
of New York. Not just this city, but cities throughout the United States
and across the world.
The following are just some of many Conceptual artists:
Mel Bochner, HanneDarboven, Agnes Denes, Jan Dibbets, Hans Haacke, On
Kawara, Les Levine, Sol LeWitt, and Lawrence Weiner.
Pics and Posters to come
Sources:
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