THEMES IN CONTEMPORARY ART - Chapter 2

Look carefully at the examples in the first few pages... how is each "conceptual"... how are some different ways that art can be "conceptual"?

Why does conceptual art take the place of "formalism" or "modernism"?

p. 50 pay attention to Sol Lewitt's description of conceptual art. When is it "good" according to him?

What is Art & Language? (Why would it make sense to have a "collective" during this period)

Note the author's disclaimer on p. 54 -- what special interest does he have? How might this interest influence his writing here?

Pay particular attention to the exercise on pp. 54-55

What is the heritage of Marcel Duchamp found here (note: Duchamp is going to factor in just about every chapter... why?)

What is the changed context that informs these conceptual work from the art of the early 1960s (and Abstract Expressionism?)

What is the "crisis in Modernism"? and what do Clement Greenberg and Michael Fried have to do with it?

What is the difference in "value" and "quality" according to Fried as opposed to Greenberg?

What is the significance of "the frame" in Modernism vs. Postmodernism (or Conceptualism)

How might modernism and the criticism around it have contributed to postmodernism?

Why should we be careful about makeing "rigid distinctions" between MO and POMO?

What are some different ways to view the WRITING which occurs in some conceptual artworks?

What is the significance of particular WORDS in this writing (what happens if we substitute a different word, randomly?)

What are some issues of social class that might be apparent when considering conceptual artworks?

How can we decide if conceptual art is "good"? (Your opinion versus LeWitt, or the author's or Danto's or Kosuth's)

How do conceptual arts work with MATERIALS as opposed to concepts?

What is the significance of the "object" with conceptual works?

How can/do artists sell/market these works? Do you think that selling a work like this reinforces the concept or compromises the concept in any way?

Pay particular attention to the exercise on pp. 74-75 which asks you to RETHINK the first works looked at.

What is the significance of the use of the term INDEX in so many works by Art & Language? How is this related to the artists' studio (in form and concept?)

Artists to know:

• Sol Lewitt
• Joseph Kosuth
• Mel Ramsden
• Robert Barry
• Lawrence Weiner
• Robert Morris
• Terry Atkinson & Michael Baldwin

Critics to know:

• Clement Greenberg (important idea "disinterestedness")
• Michael Fried (important essay, "Art and Objecthood")
• Arthur Danto (his "end of art" compared to 19c philosopher Hegel's "end of art")

Collectives to know:

• Art & Language
• Art Workers' Coalition

Terms/concepts to know:

• Global Conceptualism
• postmodernist plurality
• dematerialization of art