What was conceptual art

In Italy, Arte Povera emerged in , focused around making art without the restraints of traditional practices and materials. In Latin America, artists opted for more directly political responses in their work than Conceptual artists in North America and Western Europe. The Brazilian artist Cildo Meireles reintroduced the readymade with his Insertions into Ideological Circuits series He would interfere with objects from systems of circulation like bank notes and Coca-Cola bottles by stamping political messages onto them and returning them into the system like that.

Conceptualism in contemporary practice is often referred to as Contemporary Conceptualism. Contemporary Conceptual artworks often employ interdisciplinary approaches and audience participation, and critique institutions, political systems and structures, and hierarchies. One of its greatest strengths was taking the responsibility to truly investigate the nature of art and institutions. At times, it was an art of resistance to the dominant order. At other times, it was a cynical mirror held up to the art world, or a deeply philosophical undertaking.

Many artists despised being put in the box of Conceptual art, as they despised being put into any box. Yet, we have attempted to draw certain lines between various artists, events and thought systems that circled around a similar orbit for some time and which can be better understood under the umbrella of Conceptualism. When an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all of the planning and arrangements are made beforehand, and the execution is a more a shallow process.

In conceptual art, the process behind the work is more important than the finished artwork. Marcel Duchamp is often known to be the forefather of Conceptual Art. He is best known for his readymade works, like Fountain , the famous urinal that he designated as art in and that is seen as the first conceptual artwork in art history. Photo courtesy of Tate. Marcel Duchamp, Fountain, Photograph by Alfred Stieglitz. What does conceptual mean in art?

Generally speaking, there are two main strands of intentionalist positions available. Nevertheless, the question cannot be settled quite so easily, for many conceptual artists make a point of putting all the interpretative onus on the spectator. This leads us to the second question that is especially pertinent for a kind of art that sets out to convey an idea or meaning, namely whether there can be more than one correct or appropriate interpretation of an artwork.

Again, several theories present themselves as eligible candidates in relation to this problem. One suggestion has centred around the idea that there can be a multiplicity of appropriate or correct divergent interpretations of one and the same artwork which cannot be reduced to one underlying interpretation or ranked in relation to each other e.

In opposition to this view, however, another approach has it that there is in fact always a single best interpretation which is better than any other e. Whilst conceptual art certainly seems to rest on something like the interpretative plurality of the first view, it is not obvious how a kind of art that presents itself as an idea can, in reality, accommodate such indeterminacy. There are good reasons to believe that of all the questions conceptual art gives rise to, interpretation is the most problematic from an internal point of view.

The conundrum can be put in the following terms. If the conceptual work is the idea, it seems reasonable to assume that artistic interpretation will consist primarily in coming to understand that idea which is conceded by the artist to the artwork considered as such. As we have seen, though, we are often encouraged by conceptual artists to take the interpretative exercise into our own hands, so to speak, and not be shy to use features about ourselves and our own lives as interpretive tools.

We are, in other words, asked to combine the idea of art as idea with the claim that we can, as spectators, convey an entirely new and fresh interpretation onto an artwork that is nothing but an idea which, by definition, needs to be about or concerned with something. So, if the idea is the art, then how can my idiosyncratic interpretation of that idea be anywhere near valid?

It seems, then that in order to be coherent, conceptual art must give up either the claim that the actual artwork is nothing other than the idea, or the claim that the interpretative onus lies on the viewer. In seeking to convey a semantic representation through a vehicular medium, conceptual art arguably aims to have cognitive — rather than aesthetic — value. By cognitive value, what is meant is simply the value an artwork may have in virtue of enhancing or increasing our understanding of some topic, notion or event.

Interestingly, conceptual art seems to assume that the aesthetic detracts from or divests art of its possible cognitive value in such a way as to render the two kinds of value close to mutually exclusive Schellekens The attempt to separate the aesthetic from the cognitive is far from a recent investigative endeavour in philosophical circles.

However, few artistic movements have pressed these questions about the division between aesthetic value on the one hand, and cognitive value on the other, as scrupulously and explicitly as conceptual art. In fact, conceptual art makes things very difficult for itself by holding that the only kind of artistic value that is entirely legitimate is cognitive value.

Clearly, conceptual art is not the only kind of art that may have cognitive value — many other artforms aim to have cognitive value in addition to aesthetic value — and most of us would agree that part of why we find art rewarding is precisely because it often yields some kind of understanding.

That is to say, we read novels, look at paintings and listen to music not only because of the pleasure it may afford, but also because it tends to make us richer human beings, better able to make sense of the world around us.

Uncontroversial as this claim may seem, some philosophers have denied that art should either have or seek to have cognitive value. Most famously perhaps, expressivists such as Clive Bell and Roger Fry held that art should only seek to express and arouse emotions Bell ; Fry More recently, James Young has defended a view whereby avant-garde art, like conceptual art, cannot yield any significant knowledge or understanding Young , Exemplification is a form of reference to properties by means of a sample or exemplar.

In the case of conceptual art, a work then exemplifies an idea or concept. If conceptual art yields cognitive value, that is to say, it tends to be so trivial that it barely deserves the name. The argument puts a finger on an experience shared by many spectators of conceptual art who feel conned or deceived by it.

What, then, is conceptual art really good for? If there is to be a way out of this difficulty, we will have to take the bull by the horns and discuss exactly what kind of understanding one may gain from it. This answer will have to be cashed out in terms of two concerns: one about the content of the knowledge, and another about the kind of knowledge in question.

Second, art can yield either propositional knowledge or knowledge by acquaintance. Whereas the first consists of knowledge given to us in terms of propositions and can either be concerned with the artwork itself e. The notions of knowledge and cognitive value, whilst at the very heart of the conceptual project, raise a manifold of important questions that require solid and cogent philosophical answers.

Perhaps exemplification can still serve an epistemological purpose by inviting us to engage with the issues raised by a work of art in a richer and more imaginative way; in a way that makes us think about questions of philosophical interest in particular way — a way that propositions alone cannot do?

Exploring this avenue may yet help us see what kind of non-trivial cognitive value conceptual art is capable of yielding. Many more questions centred around these five philosophical themes remain to be examined in relation to conceptual art. With regards to concerns about defining art, we need to address the increasing number of worries to do with exactly how we are to distinguish art from non-art, and indeed whether there really is a distinction if only conceptual to be drawn here.

That is to say, if conceptual art is at times not only perceptually indistinguishable from non-art but it is also the case that everything is alleged to be part of a potential artwork, perhaps the inevitable outcome is that there simply cannot be a principled distinction between art and non-art. So, does the conceptual project lead to the end of the category of art as such? From the ontological perspective, this set of concerns acquires an even more aggressive flavour: if art should be all about putting forward ideas and making statements, why, one might wonder, do we need the conceptual artwork at all?

Can we not merely ask the same questions and make the same statements directly? In addition to these questions, the host of issues that have been raised about interpretation, intention, appreciation and the way they are or should be related have not yet been silenced. For art that is as discourse-dependent as most conceptual art is, it is not always clear whether there is anything more to interpreting conceptual art than just being told what the idea in question is.

And if so, can we still call this interpretation? Finally, what are we to make of the relation between aesthetic and cognitive value in conceptual art — should they be considered as in opposition or even as mutually exclusive? If the only kind of value that is of genuine artistic importance is cognitive value, it will be difficult to avoid the definitional and ontological concerns mentioned above.

Also, it will call for a deeply revisionary conception of art, one fundamentally hostile to the very notions we are probably most used to associating with art, namely beauty and aesthetic pleasure.

Central to the philosophy of conceptual art is thus the provocative spirit of the project under investigation — conceptual art throws down the gauntlet by challenging us to reconsider every aspect of artistic experience, and it may well be up to philosophy to pick it up and address some of the questions conceptual art makes its business to raise. Conceptual art actively aims to be thought-provoking, stimulating and inspiring, and if only for that reason, philosophers interested in art should not pass it by unaffected.

Conceptual Art — What Is It? The Philosophy of Conceptual Art — What is it? Five Philosophical Themes 3. In the words of Morris Weitz, art may be an open concept. New conditions have constantly arisen and will undoubtedly constantly arise; new art forms, new movements will emerge, which will demand decisions on the part of those interested… as to whether the concept should be extended or not. Weitz , 32 The act of proposing a definition of art thus becomes a less stringent exercise of conceptual analysis.

They may be struck by these qualities at once, or they may come to perceive them only after repeated viewings, hearings, or readings, and with the help of critics. But unless they do perceive them for themselves, aesthetic enjoyment, appreciation, and judgement are beyond them… the crucial thing is to see, hear, or feel. Sibley , Further Questions Many more questions centred around these five philosophical themes remain to be examined in relation to conceptual art.

Beardsley, Monroe, Bell, Clive, Art , London. Binkley, Timothy, Budd, Malcolm, Carroll, Noel, Iseminger ed. Corris, Michael ed. Cray, Wesley, Currie, Gregory, Danto, Arthur C.

The Transfiguration of the Commonplace , Cambridge Mass. Davies, David, Art as Performance , Oxford: Blackwells.

Davies, Stephen, Dickie, George, Fry, R. Godfrey, Tony, Conceptual Art , London: Phaidon Press. This is because, unlike a painter or sculptor who will think about how best they can express their idea using paint or sculptural materials and techniques, a conceptual artist uses whatever materials and whatever form is most appropriate to putting their idea across — this could be anything from a performance to a written description.

Although there is no one style or form used by conceptual artists, from the late s certain trends emerged. Read the captions in the artworks below to find out about some of the main ways conceptual artists explored and expressed their ideas. See all artworks. As a definable movement conceptual art is associated with the s and s, but its origins reach beyond these two decades.

Marcel Duchamp is often seen as an important forefather of conceptual art, and his readymade Fountain of cited as the first conceptual artwork.

The movement that emerged in the mid s and continued until the mid s was international, happening more or less simultaneously across Europe, North America and South America. Artists associated with the movement attempted to bypass the increasingly commercialised art world by stressing thought processes and methods of production as the value of the work. The art forms they used were often intentionally those that do not produce a finished object such as a sculpture or painting.

This meant that their work could not be easily bought and sold and did not need to be viewed in a formal gallery situation. It was not just the structures of the art world that many conceptual artists questioned, there was often a strong socio-political dimension to much of the work they produced, reflecting wider dissatisfaction with society and government policies. Although as a definable art movement conceptual art is associated with the s, many artists continue to make conceptual art in the twenty-first century such as Martin Creed and Simon Starling.

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