Conceptual
Art
The
notion that it is the 'concept' behind the work,
rather than the technical skill of the artist in
making it, that is important. Conceptual Art became a
major international phenomenon in the 1960s and its
manifestations have been very diverse. The ideas or
'concepts' may be communicated using a variety of
different media, including texts, maps, diagrams,
film and video, photographs and performances, and the
resulting works may be displayed in a gallery or
designed for a specific site. In some cases the
landscape itself becomes an integral part of the
artist's work, as in the Land Art of Long or
the environmental sculptures of Christo. The ideas
expressed through Conceptual work have been drawn
from philosophy, feminism, psychoanalysis, film studies
and political activism. The notion of the Conceptual
artist as a maker of ideas rather than objects
undermines traditional views about the status of the
artist and the art object.
Representative
painters:
Art & Language, Burgin, Christo,
Kabakov, Kawara, Kosutn, LeWitt, Long, Merz, Weiner