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Mailing 1: Conceptual Art and After
wilson hurst
Points of Departure
Over the last four weeks, I have been reading four books on conceptual art and its influence on
visual culture. Thoughtfully written, each volume offers much insight into the underpinnings of
contemporary art. Establishing a discourse while embracing the diversity of activity, these
books also provide many references to specific artists who both established foundations and
advanced concepts over the last fifty years. As enlightening as these reading are, I have
dramatically expanded their utility by simultaneously extracting snippets and running World
Wide Web searches based on concepts and artists introduced. In a very short time, this effort
has broadened my appreciation of an area of the art world that previously I found largely
puzzling. In addition, this new understanding has made me consider my own creative archive
from a new perspective, and most importantly is now influencing my image capture
performances. Process informs product.
Alberro, Alexander, and Sabeth Buchmann. Art After Conceptual Art. Generali Foundation collection series. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 2006. Print.
Art after Conceptual Art surveys conceptualist artistic practice by presenting a series of
challenging essays. Of the four books read, this one is the most dense, and I will benefit from
spending more time pondering the discourse on future rereading. Recognizing the wide
diversity of work categorized as conceptual, the editors propose that the classification is
comprised of many different and sometimes incongruous modalities.
The field of negotiation of conceptual art by design must transcend conventional boundaries.
Of course, this is one of its major long-term problems, as over time the unconventional must
become conventional by virtue of its existence and approval. The successful becomes
commonplace through its acceptance, and thus the bar of nonconformity is continually raised.
Conceptual art is forever weird.
Conceptual art is also discursive as it envelops a wide field of subjects and is frequently
rambling. This trait is seemly especially prevalent in the informed writing about the subject, as
the repetition of a certain type of discourse builds legitimacy.
Developed as a simplistic model, conceptual art practices can employ any of the following
strategies:
dematerialization of the art object democratization of the art world alternative proposals self-imposed restrictions
As the title of the book’s introduction truly indicates, “The way out is the way in”, meaning that
as things become circuitous, especially when considered at a theoretical basis, an ending is also
a beginning. The more we know the less we know. As we deal with the mind, the
interconnectedness of a physical object and its representations, both visual and linguistic, are
reevaluated. Concepts are exposed as the base below the formal base. Yet not all is new as
“period styles thrive today in highly reconfigured forms”.
One interesting notion from the text is that conceptualism breaks free from the constraints of
self-containment. However, this is probably a little too ambitious a claim. For although the rules
of engagement certainly have changed, moving art into the realm of ideas and away from the
bounds of physicality, a new set of expectations prevail. And if an especially sophisticated artist
recognizes the possibilities inherent in older forms of creative communication, by incorporating
those in a cogent conceptual statement, this non-compliance with current fashion may not be
accepted.
Furthermore, if one does not have the knowledge and skill to understand the old rules, then the
probability of successfully breaking those paradigms is impossible. This problem is acute with
the desire to circumvent formal aesthetic values, for this supposition breeds an army of
unskilled practitioners.
An interesting aspect of jumping into a new intellectual environment is how language shifts,
and words become differently defined. Thus belonging to the guild is contingent on
understanding the shared codes. An example is discourse, normally referencing merely a
lengthy verbal exchange or conversation. However, within the conceptual art community it
carries much more weight, largely derived from the work of French philosopher Michel
Foucault. In this context, a discourse is a formalized mode of thinking expressed through
language, a social boundary establishing what is implicit about a specific topic. Therefore, the
discourse defines possible truth, and affects our views on all things. It is not possible to escape
discourse, which shapes our realities.
As I progressed though the text, some other words popped-up frequently and thus are worthy
of further investigation. One such word is mediated, which seems to covey two ideas. The first
is a reference to dispute management. Art, or the interpretation of art, can bring about an
agreement, a settlement, or a compromise. Thus in these terms we are considering intention of
the artist, the viewer, or the critic. However, a more frequent use of the term involves cultural
influences that pressure, dictate, or mediate art. This intervening agency is often referenced as
subversive, or at the very least negative, in that we are pawns to our social conditioning and
environment. Thus, art is just a small entity in the much larger and more powerful culture
forces over which we exercise little control. Nevertheless, there is value in indentifying this
situation, for only if an enemy is recognized can defenses be built, and subsequent intercession
strategies be deployed.
Mass cultural discourses Condition and control Experience of everyday life
This brings up the possibility of vicissitude. Because “conditions of art are socially and
historically constituted”, they are changeable realities. In fact, this is one of the most valued
characteristics of the collective arts: unexpected changes or shifts encountered in life can be
enabled by experiencing art. Art expands the realm of possibility in a multiplicity of directions.
The editors support this notion, as they explicitly state that the legacy of conceptual art and
critique of institutions are central themes of all the essays in the book.
Another word frequently encountered is dialectical. I belief this most clearly is considered as an
analysis between two conflicting forces in which the contradiction is viewed as the determining
factor in their continuing interaction. In other words, two conflicting concepts need not be
mutually exclusive, but rather each can co-exist in a coherent synthesis. The understanding that
statements can be incompatible without creating contradictions in reasoning is a liberating
awareness.
At its core, conceptual practice interrogates the framework defining the very nature of art, re-
contextualizing signs and symbols, forever changing the reading conventions. However, some
human tendencies seem inherent, and perhaps represent impenetrable boundaries. One such
behavior is indexical, the need to establish categories of thought or create some common
collection of affairs. This organization might be an underlying requirement for communication
between entities with discrete perceptual processing functions. Culture and society under such
conditions must always impose structure on its members. Anticipating history, will the
paradigm be changed if perceptions themselves become collective -- intelligence comprised of
all members linked together into a shared mind via subspace transceivers: future cell phones?
Psychological interiorization Melancholic contemplation Spatially conceivable
Osborne, Peter. Conceptual Art. Themes and movements. London: Phaidon, 2002. Print.
By the 1970’s, parallel with the development of leisure suits and disco, the cultural role of art
crystallized as primarily a communication of ideas. Artwork considered as an object of visual or
spatial experience resulting in pleasure was both challenged and ostracized. We now consider it
a requirement for serious art to “raise fundamental questions concerning its own definition and
the contexts in which it intervenes”. Osborne's comprehensive survey of conceptual art
describes this transformation, placing the alteration into the larger context of media, politics,
and society. Organized into three supporting sections, the book starts with an essay overview,
then presents a large set of images representing important works by essential practitioners, and
finishes with a compendium of primary critical sources, many of which are written by the artists
themselves. This last section is important, as “critical writing by conceptual artists is integral to
their practice”. In other words, the last section of the book can be considered as not just
further elucidations about conceptual art, but as conceptual art!
This idea, that writing itself is art, resonates deeply. In my personal artist practice, I produce
written work associated with my photographic based imagery. Each literature offering is
carefully crafted to raise questions and invoke cognitive movement, engaging the receiver
conceptually. As “the totality of one’s work creates its own philosophy”, I consider the effort
and result of working with language integrated with images synergistic and additive. In this
spirit, my latentsifier web site is an emergent structure, where the whole is greater than the
sum of its parts. In fact, I seriously take the notion of being an artist to encompass all my
activities. Thus, I approach everything I do and everything I encounter from the perspective of
performing and responding always as an artist. Even this report detailing reflections on my
visual culture research activity is designed as an art form.
I found it ironic that although the “dematerialization of the art object” is a central and arguably
defining characteristic of conceptual art, the overt design of the Osborne book embraces the
aesthetics of the fine object. This is evidenced by the creative visual use of typography
(occasionally judiciously eliminating leading; starting each section with pages of large type and
progressively reducing subsequent pages to smaller type), the visual use of color in page design,
and the image selection and layout of the book jacket. Perhaps this was done simply to
rearticulate the many questions surrounding the definitions of art meaning in a post-conceptual
world. Alternatively, perhaps any man-made object befits from formal design attention.
Although continually questioned, the true nature of art can never be definitively answered. This
is one liberating relevant idea presented in the text. Accepted as an operative, this removes the
burden of needing to arrive at a single solution, but rather allows a free exploration and
consideration of a multitude of divergent and potentially conflicting answers. When taken to its
logical end, this means that all art movements and presentation strategies are legitimate, even
those that might temporarily fall from favor. Thus, the later notion expressed in the book, that
conceptual art follows “Lineages of negation grounded in the crisis of formalist modernism”, is
perhaps too judgmental. And in fact I think it is a worthy exercise to question many principles
currently assumed essential to contemporary art. However, questioning does not imply
http://www.wilsonhurst.com/blog/
rejection, but rather imparts awareness and careful consideration of applications and
implications. From this perspective, we can move beyond dismissal and truly assimilate all
distilled cultural creative paradigms. I like to think of this approach as a new art movement
which I am now naming Postism.
Supporting the inherent need of humans to reference the indexical, the book breaks down
conceptual art into eight classifications. Always interested in typology, the following are the
identified categories.
Pre-history Instruction, Performance, Documentation Process, System, Series Word and Sign Appropriation, Intervention, Everyday Politics and Ideology Institutional Critique Afterwards
These subdivisions are repeated in each section of the book and present a framework for the
discourse, providing the reader with a convenient outline. This organizes the complexity of art
activities and idea presentation strategies, which evolve extensively over the time line
considered.
Of the main precursors to conceptual art, Marcel Duchamp stands out as the most prescient
figure. He was the first to formulate “art as a question of function not morphology”. That an
idea itself can be the work of art was first realized as a readymade, Duchamp’s name for found
art. Most famously, he submitted a reoriented urinal to an art exhibit sponsored by the Society
of Independent Artists. The adjudicating members of the exhibit rejected the readymade, but
the work is now universally considered a major milestone in 20th century art.
The book proposes, “The work of any one artist might be spread across these categories.”. In
fact, each of the defined categories of conceptual art as detailed in the book has personal
significance. Briefly, I shall describe how, instantiating each idea by including an actual
representative image example from my work.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Independent_Artistshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Independent_Artists
The idea addressing the temporality of performance, thereby questioning the material
objectivity of art, is directly addressed in my
AmbientAmbulations project. Allowing for long exposures
under high intensity illumination, I use neutral density
filters while walking along a vector trajectory with the
shutter open to capture radiation over time as a function
of space. This temporal activity incorporates elements of
performance art, which I consider integral to the finished piece. Direction and speed become
critical control attributes leading to yet another interpretation of appearance. As each
performance is presented as a random event relative to any potential audience, this is pure
temporality. The only permanent record of the performance is the image produced as a
function of the event.
The notion of objecthood comprised of ideal relationship
systems is an enduring concept in much of my visual
work, perhaps best realized in explorations of images
within images, and work presented as a syntagmatic
analysis. In this regard, the interrelatedness of all things is
continually explored and questioned.
Another aspect of objecthood investigation is an interest in structural reduction, perhaps best
summarized as minimalism. This thread also recurs in
my image stream. Elementary things are not so simple.
If there were no matter, would space be nonexistent?
In other words, if no objects exist would space still
exist? Does space have an independent characteristic,
without relation to anything external? Can space, the
void between objects, affect those objects it engulfs?
Or do objects affect the nature of space? Since visual art is the process or product of
deliberately arranging elements in a way to affect the senses, emotions, or thoughts, these
questions of space relative to object are valuable to consider.
Visual form significance part one. I investigate the idea of the
readymade in at least two different ways. In a broad sense, most
of my photography involves capturing energy reflecting off found
objects. In this activity, my role is one of selection and re-
contextualization, creating a new thought for an object or scene.
In a more literal interpretation, sometimes I employ
found objects as modes for image capture. A good
example is the use of a four-hole button as a lensless
optic for a digital camera. To further synthesize
conceptual practice, I present this result in a serial
fashion supporting objecthood comprised of ideal
relationship systems. “What makes a series notable- -
similarities or differences?”
Visual form significance part two. I like to explore linguistically enhanced visual art using
language and letterforms to modify, alter and expand
communication impact. Appearance and meaning of words are
reconfigured by spatial, typographical, and contextual relationships.
The visual currency involving interaction of multi-dimensional
representational spaces is one of the great pleasures of
photography. Simple symbolic shapes can quickly become complex conceptual abstractions.
Perceptions of the everyday. For some time I have been interested in
making interesting images out of subjects that seem to lack any
potential. This approach allows for great versatility in that it opens up
an endless stream of visual source material. Commonly we do not
simply see. Always an intervening filter of thoughts, conclusions, and
opinions modify our view. To really see, there must be an inner quietness and liberty from
precincts -- a relaxed awareness.
Engaged in a political response -- in search for America. Some places speak to a state of gloomy
sorrow, as even the discarded is guarded behind barbed wire. Yet weeds, by virtue of their
resilience, affirm the land. Signs of hope always emerge in desperation, and the earth will
abide.
Art institution power retort. My extensive use of
the internet as a primary artistic vehicle
circumvents the established art authority control
structure. Yet at the same time, it is impossible to
escape the proliferation of mass culture. So I
simply endeavor to stay afloat in the ocean of
images, employing all available lines of attack.
To expand on conceptual art, I am interested in incorporating the ideas of epistemology. Thus, I
am considering the nature, scope, and limitations of knowledge, by addressing these questions:
What is knowledge? How is knowledge acquired? How is knowledge verified?
Although these questions may never be definitively answered, ultimately, this line of reasoning
can lead to a desirable state of “concentrated consciousness.” This means employing thought
processes that include an awareness of one’s own awareness. Much of the time, humans are
simply drifting through life, responding in a preprogrammed way to stimulation. Habitual and
unthinking behavior can be optimistically overcome by moving beyond reflexively.
As a concluding thought, although I have come to realize by reading this book that I already
function conceptually in my art production to a degree, simultaneously the exercise expanded
my understanding of the range of possibilities. I was particularly inspired by the section with
examples and explanations of individual artist’s work. I plan to review this section in the future
to better internalize the many ideas presented. My creative frontier has moved much farther
toward the horizon.
Cotton, Charlotte. The Photograph As Contemporary Art. World of art. London ; New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 2004. Print.
This insightful little book is a survey of photography as considered in a contemporary art
context. Its goal is to “Give a sense of the current spectrum of motivations and expressions.” In
this spirit, the work “focuses on the state of art photography today rather than how or why we
have reached this moment.” Once accepted as an entry point, providing a passport to a much
deeper investigation, its value as a resource clarifies.
Because photography is my creative discipline, I spent considerable time engaged with
Charlotte’s discourse. In fact, I read the book twice. On my first pass though, although I enjoyed
the experience, I was somewhat frustrated. It seemed as if once beyond the description and
into the content interpretation of each image, things became somewhat imaginary. In many
instances, it was a real stretch to associate the literary composition with the targeted
photographs. In fact, as an interesting exercise in appropriation, I think that the book could be
republished with random replacement of the images reassigning the existent meanings as
portrayed, and the dialog would still be equally valid. The other problem I experienced was a
feeling that overall the images themselves were pedestrian and uninteresting. Compared to the
thousands of images I experience on a daily basis, as an avid and active participant of visual
culture, they simply did not standup as exceptional or even interesting.
Nevertheless, as I began a second pass though the book, I decided to expand the experience.
First, I desired to distal the indexical schema presented into concise groupings. These nine
categories are:
Precursors pioneers of conceptual art photography Performance happenings devised to be photographed Tableau storytelling in a single image theatrically employing drama Deadpan lack of visual drama, subject rather than photographers perspective important Ordinary everything/anything a potential subject Intimate
emotional and personal relationships Documentary history, aftermath, isolated communities Appropriation based on pre-existing knowledge of imagery Physical nature of medium part of the narrative
Next, I undertook a time consuming search into the work of each photographer presented in
each of these categories. Google to the rescue, it turns out most of the artists have extensive
presence on the World Wide Web. In addition to reading more about each contemporary artist,
sometimes based on their own characterizations of creative motivations, I collected many
digital files of their creative work. The image files I organized into the categories defined above.
I was able to expand the total number of images from 243 presented in the book to 3,760 now
on my hard drive. My intention is to continue this archive collection informed by all future
visual cultural projects over the course of my MFA studies.
What I found is that as a whole, these artists have not abandoned either the aesthetic or the
craft of photography, and many are extremely diversified in both their formal image
construction and technical approach. Furthermore, I found that in many instances they are
occupied with some of the same questions and methodologies as have driven tributaries of my
own work over these many years of personal artistic engagement. This process of research and
discovery both encouraged and inspired, and the resulting evidence constitutes a large visual
culture archive. On reflection, my first impression of the ordinary and insipid nature of the
images printed in the book was induced primarily by the selection decisions of the editor. Or
perhaps it is unrealistic to think the work of an artist can be extrapolated from a conjecture of
meaning based on one image.
To further place the visual output of these recognized art photographers into a truly modern
context, I decided to generate a single document of their work as a continuous image stream.
To accomplish this goal, I needed to standardize all the disparate file formats downloaded from
the web. I also needed to establish a unified naming convention to provide an underlying
organizational structure. Finally, I needed to find a method to automatically convert images
located in a folder-based hierarchical file structure into a single presentable file. Testing a
variety of software programs, I was able to assemble a tool set and workflow that has resulted
in the single PDF file included with this report as a CD addendum.
Navigating though this image stream is a wonderful and educational experience. I also created a
title slate to indicate the start of each photographer’s individual section, and visually organized
the images of each artist into cogent groupings.
Most contemporary art discourse places a strong emphasis on the “Beauty of ideas rather than
ideas of the beautiful.” Nevertheless, in actuality ideas of the beautiful are continually explored
as part of the strategy to present beautiful ideas. And if an image is not beautiful, it must be at
least interesting or have some visual appeal to rise above a sensation threshold. By looking
through this extensive survey of photographic imagery, academically sanctioned as
contemporary art, the sensation threshold has clearly been passed. In most cases by a wide
margin.
Pinney, Christopher, and Nicolas Peterson. Photography's Other Histories. Objects/histories. Durham: Duke University Press, 2003. Print.
This was the last book I read during the current visual culture research period; as it found it less
relevant at my current developmental stage, it received less attention than the others.
Although interesting, it is less about photography as an art form and more about how the
photographic archive provides anthropological clues, especially regarding people and societies
outside the dominate cultural mainstream. One of the questions it raises is whether humans
must organize in hierarchical structures that involve cast relationships. It seems that
throughout history the powerful always dominate the weak, often by means of brute force. It is
impossible to justify this on any moral front, yet the tendency is alive and can be considered as
viable subject matter to support current photographic documentary activity. Here are several
images from my creative archive that support the supposition. One made at the Missouri State
Fair just last year, and another captured back in 1980 while I was a student at the Rochester
Institute of Technology, each with equally poignant implications.
The book made me think about
Edward S. Curtis and his
monumental work, “The North
American Indian” Although his
intention was to document Native
American Indian traditional life
before it disappeared, most of his
product is fiction. He rendered
Indians in a way he thought they
should be represented, not as they
actual existed.
Curtis knew what he was doing, but
many other documentarians also
recontextualize history unwittingly
through their own distorted lens of
perception. This I consider a primary
lesson of “Photography’s other
Histories.”
Sometimes a record of something
interesting is sufficient to warrant the
creation of a photograph – a serious chronicling of the external world. As I jockey into position
to make a specific image, I sincerely hope not to offend any locals with my documentary
endeavors.
Afterwards
Experiencing the visual cultural project process for the very first time, on reflection of the
completion of this first mailing, my expectations of value have been exceeded. Before this
study, I never considered myself as a conceptual artist. Now that I more fully understand the
ideas and concepts involved in contemporary art, I realize I am very close to functioning as a
conceptual photographic artist. This is not to say I have mastered the medium, but rather that I
have identified a firm foundation of activities supporting the genre. This is something on which
to stand, and provides a platform for future growth and development. I also came to realize
one of the most precious offerings from the Vermont College faculty is their informed
recommended readings. On my own, I never would have selected these books. They are now
part of my creative vocabulary, and reside on my bookshelf to be revisited time and time again.