Conceptual art

'Being an artist now means to question the nature of art'. Joseph Kosuth

What I mostly like about Conceptual art is the idea of acknowledgment of the learning process that leads to but does not necessarily have to lead to the finished product. On the basis that the idea of a work matters more than its physiscal identity, conceptual art began to take form in the 1960s. The movement was based on the European Dada movement and the writings of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. Conceptual art also has roots in the work of the father of Dadaism, Marcel Duchamp, who was also the creator of the "ready-made." The movement represented a major turning point in 20th century art, challenging notions about art, society, politics, and the media with its theory that art is ideas. Art as a thought, which is powerful enough to be considered art.

The actual term of "Conceptual art" was first used in 1961 by Henry Flynt in a Fluxus publication. It later developed into a different meaning when it was adopted by the Art and Language group, headed by Joseph Kosuth. It was believed that that Conceptual art was created "when the analysis of an art object succeeded the object itself". Thus the theory that the knowledge and thought gained in artistic production was more important than the finished product gained popularity among artists. The first Conceptual art exhibition, titled "Conceptual Art and Conceptual Aspects" took place in 1970 at the New York Cultural Center.

Through Conceptual art the artist aimed to convey a concept to the viewer, placing out of focus the creator or the talent which played a major role in the traditional art forms such as painting and sculpture.

"Works were strongly based on text, which was used as much as if not more often than imagery. Conceptual art also typically incorporates photographs, instructions, maps, and videos. The movement challenged the importance of art traditions and discredited the significance of the materials and finished product. Rather, Conceptual works were meant to be proactive and questioning to the nature of art."

It is believed that Conceptual art expanded the boundaries of art and stopped the influence of commercialism. The movement is often criticized as dull and pretentious. Conceptual art was the forerunner for installation, digital, and performance art, more generally art that can be experienced.

Linking conceptual art to the experience economy movement, design professions are seen to have migrated from "myopic design assignments" (design me a toaster) towards conceiving the intangible intangible systems for the sake of experience (design me a system). Ronald Jones links in a very clever manner conceptual art to the value of experience. His article "Are you experienced" is worth reading.

Below is an example of conceptual art by Joseph Kosuth, courtesy of Museum of Modern Art, New York.

"One and three chairs, Joseph Kosuth, MoMa 2009"

A chair sits alongside a photograph of a chair and a dictionary definition of the word chair. Perhaps all three are chairs, or codes for one: a visual code, a verbal code, and a code in the language of objects, that is, a chair of wood. But isn't this last chair simply . . . a chair? Or, as Marcel Duchamp asked in his Bicycle Wheel of 1913, does the inclusion of an object in an artwork somehow change it? If both photograph and words describe a chair, how is their functioning different from that of the real chair, and what is Kosuth's artwork doing by adding these functions together? Prodded to ask such questions, the viewer embarks on the basic processes demanded by Conceptual art.