The Fault in Conceptual Artists Essay

The question of “What is art” is a discussion that for some people can be incredibly nuanced and challenging, while for others, it’s inexplicably simple. In this paper I will discuss the topic of what art is, it’s value to society, what it means to me and how this personal definition has evolved both over time and as a result of this course. In addition, this paper will also demonstrate the approaches by which one can evaluate and interpret art by comparing and contrasting works from two different periods. Specifically, the art works which are going to be discussed from two different periods are, Statuette of

Conceptualism can be said to be a creative and critical strategy establishing a firm link between contemporary and classical African art where the concept or function of/behind the artwork is of primary importance, with the aesthetical qualities being secondary. A said by Sol Lewitt (1967) “ In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work…The idea becomes a machine that makes the art…Conceptual art is not necessarily logical. … The ideas need not be complex. Most ideas that are successful are ludicrously simple." ( Salah M. Hassan and Olu Oguibe) Conceptual art highlights the idea of concept versus idea. The concept becomes a visual representation as the idea takes precedence over form. Hence one can say it establishes a relationship between word, idea and representation and the artwork. The conceptual element of the artwork are used to create meaning along with being seen as a ‘framework for

Abstraction is the creation of art without representation of objects, in which the artist has total freedom of the art that they are creating. I will be using three paintings from three different time periods in order to show the development and lasting effects of abstraction in the twentieth century. The first work that I will be looking at is Foghorns by Arthur Dove. I will use this piece to show the beginning of abstraction, and how ideas of abstraction were present before the movement began. The second painting that I will be looking at is Jackson Pollock’s Lucifer. I will be using this painting as an example of the height of abstraction in the 20th century and will be discussing Pollock’s influence on abstraction. The third piece of art I will be looking at is Many Mansion by Kerry James Marshall. I will use this work to show the remnants of Pollock’s influence, and the influence of abstraction in general, on art in the later half of the century. For the development of this paper I looked at two of the course readings. The first reading that I used was The Tradition of the New by Harold Rosenberg. I used this article to show how Foghorns by Arthur Dove relates to abstraction, and to show how ideas in creation of this painting can be linked to ideas of abstract art. The second reading that I used for this paper was The Legacy of Jackson Pollock by Alan Kaprow. I used this article to gain information about

Art has evolved and regenerated itself many times during our human existence. These differences are defined through changes in styles under various theories. During the nineteenth and early twentieth century, a style known as Expressionism became popular. During this movement the artists were trying to use their artwork as a tool of expression toward life. It was mainly dominant in the nonrepresentational arts, such as abstract visual arts and music. It also was probably one of the most difficult movements to understand because the whole point of the piece lay within the artist. Not only was it a movement, it defined the act of art as a whole. From the beginning of time, each work of art, excluding replicas, show a way of expressing

The art piece that I chose to critique is the sculpture of a figure kneeling down and getting shocked. It is located on campus near the Morris University Center(muc). When I first saw this sculpture it caught my attention immediately, because of how gruesome the piece was. I feel like I don’t have a good understanding of what the sculpture represents, but it seems like it would raise plenty of controversy, due to its erotic features. It seems like the artist was venting his emotions when he created his idea. The sculpture is fairly large in size, which makes it noticeable, among the other art pieces on campus. The sculpture media consist of wood and concrete, and metal mostly. The individual is keeling down toward the west and is supported

Pushing the Perspective is an exhibition of artworks in which the artist has depicted their own say on modern problems that face politics. Along with this their art goes on beyond the boundaries of art, the 3 featured artist are anything but the same, however they all come close in their use of conceptual art. The conceptual art movement came into existence in the late 1960 and 1970s, Its purpose was to rebel against the boundaries of art. Where the idea behind the art is more important than the visual component of the art works. Examples of conceptual art is in body art, performance art, installation, video art, sound art, earth art or Fluxus activities, where the object is only there to deliver the concept. The artist

Duchamp challenged the very notion of what is art, his first "readymades" sent shock waves across the art world that can still be felt today. Duchamp's ongoing preoccupation with the mechanisms of desire and human sexuality as well as his fondness for wordplay aligns his work with that of Surrealists, although he steadfastly refused to be affiliated with any specific artistic movement per se. In his insistence that art should be driven by ideas above all, Duchamp is generally considered to be the father of Conceptual art. His refusal to follow a conventional artistic path, matched only by a horror of repetition which accounts for the relatively small number of works Duchamp produced in the span of his short career, ultimately led to his withdrawal from the art world. In later years, Duchamp famously spent his time playing chess, even as he labored away in secret at his last enigmatic masterpiece, which was only unveiled after his death. An artist that was inspired by Marcel Duchamp's "readymades," Cornell elevated the found object to the center of his oeuvre and embodied a new paradigm of the artist as collector and

With R Mutt’s Fountain, one of the most influential works of the twentieth century, this places an art historical value on the Duchamp piece. R Mutt’s Fountain was created in 1917, shortly after he became associated with the Dada movement, who emerged amid the brutality of World War One. Dadaism is a movement of art, who were experimental, pushing the boundaries, provocatively reimaging what art and art making could be. They used unconventional materials and chance based procedures, infusing their work with spontaneity and irreverence. Duchamp was a central figure in the Dada movement, declaring common, and “manufactured goods to be ‘readymade’ artworks, radically challenging the notion of a work of art as something beautiful made by a technically skilled artist . R Mutt’s Fountain is one of Duchamp’s most famous works reflecting the Dada movement and ideas surrounding it. He

Although art had nothing in common with the popular culture, the interplay of the two was becoming more obvious, while “critics have insistently connected the two, usually by opposition.” Different sources of influence were making people more aware of the ways that some issues can be compared or contrasted, while “In the classic Marxist view, history was a forward-marching dialectical struggle between opposed interests.” The opposite interests of the “fine art” and art of “everyday crap” cannot be compared in their historic value in terms of the ways they were perceived by the contemporary audiences, they still could be compared in terms of their perception. The perception of the “fine art” is still the same as many centuries before this moment, making people appreciate the colours and lines, structures and techniques, while the modern art came into straight opposition to the issues valued in the past. At the same time, the perceptions made “fine art” stand out as opposed to that of “everyday crap,” which could only rely on whether it is favoured by the audiences, sold and bought at galleries, and used in other interdisciplinary

Although the idea of an artist creating work beyond their death might seem like a ludicrous thought to some, in reality, one might be surprised to find that the work of Sol LeWitt is still being manufactured after his late death in 2007. During the 1960s, Lewitt proposed the revolutionary claim that an idea itself could be art. Today, Lewitt’s legacy still manages to challenge the notion that art must physically manifest into an object. LeWitt’s conceptual art abolishes the art as an object as well as the artist’s physical labor in creating the artwork as intrinsic to the definition of art. Furthermore, his framework separates human agency from the mechanical aspects of actually making the work. In spite of what most people think, not all art is the unique product of a disciplined master. While many may argue that Lewitt created juvenile simple pieces, this artist actually introduced very complicated issues of authorship and authenticity into the conversation of art.

Lemmens and Ibghy’s art work evokes post modernism and conceptualism as it is defined by the 2004 Oxford Dictionary of Art as “various forms of art in which the idea for a work is considered more important than the

Marcel Duchamp used his work to convey the idea that art is not in the object itself but rather in the context we put it in. His artwork “The Fountain” was a urinal bought from a plumbing supply house, signed, and put in display. Although the piece of art is just one object, I think “The Fountain” is an artwork of ideas. By placing an ordinary, unexpressive object in the art context,

Marcel Duchamp was a French-American painter and sculptor. His work is linked with Dadaism and conceptual art, a movement that examined suppositions of what art must be, and in what way it should be arranged. Duchamp has had an enormous influence on twentieth-century and twenty first-century art, impelling the development of post–World War I Western art. Alongside Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse,

Marcel Duchamp’s [1887-1968] influence on the modern art world is universally recognized. His legacy remains even today unparalleled; th

The history of art dates back to ancient times. Artwork can be, and was, found around the world. What makes art interesting is that it can be created in any way, shape or form with any materials. It seems that the artwork can also tell us a lot about the artist. Art seems to be simply, a direct, visual reflection of the artist’s life. Therefore, one can assume that an artist’s life experiences and beliefs directly influence their art. If we look at examples from different periods of art we will be able to see the connection between the artist and the art.