Kate Martens
December 2007
Conceptual Art and Contemporary Audience
The necessity and subordination of object and information
in the work of Kelly Sherman
A lot has changed in the art world over the last forty years. Perhaps most notable
is the shift in how work is looked at and experienced, and in who is expected to look at it
and experience it. The Conceptual art movement, which began in the 1960s, set out with
the aim to shake things up. And the proponents of the movement were successful.
American and British artists like Sol LeWitt, John Baldessari, and Joseph Kosuth
effectively trashed traditional aesthetic aims, cut down the critics, and created a discourse
driven by the removal of the object in art-making. The social and historical relevance of
the movement is undeniable. Yet there is an air of exclusivity in the work of the initiators
of Conceptual art. It was surely not art for the masses. It was cerebral, aloof, and
inaccessible. The audience was kept intentionally small. The publications were
distributed tepidly. Nonetheless, Conceptual art became a fixture in the art world, and it
affected other aspects of visual culture. Advertising, popular cinema, product
design—these things worked in concert with Conceptual art, as they borrowed from one
another, without ever fully acknowledging this system of interdependence. Still, the
public had little direct exposure to Conceptual art, although, as is the case in most all art
movements, they contributed to the necessity of its invention.
Needless to say, things have changed. Conceptual art is no longer exclusive or
shocking—it has been around since the 60s, after all. Forty years is a long time to
maintain the je ne sais quois it achieved so potently early on. Over the course of
Conceptual art’s history, its physical presentation has changed significantly. Artists who
were not involved with the early Conceptual artists, due to difference in time or location,
but who shared their value system of idea over object, found innovative, interactive ways
to engage the audience. Lygia Clark has challenged and captivated the viewer’s senses
with her “proposals,”1 for instance. Felix Gonzalez-Torres infused comedy and comfort
into his thematically somber candy piles. Conceptual art has become an accepted part of
the contemporary artistic conversation because it has reached out and touched the viewer
in some capacity. No longer is the message restricted to the flat white plane. No longer
does it feel antiseptic or detached. No longer does the cerebral meaning outweigh the
personal one. Since its remote beginning, ConceptuaLayoutl art, due to its appearance and
implications, has become relatable for the contemporary audience.
I think that this piece from the text is quite interesting as it tells you how art has evolved in the conceptual art world. Before the artists had a much more quiet approach to their art as if it was quite personal and only for the people they chose to show it to. Nowadays i feel that art is for everyone and you can have it anywhere and for as long as you like. The curatorial methods were quite different to how we are wanting ours to be as we are trying to get out there to the masses and to try advertise ourselves as much as we can. I feel that most of our pupils in our class are conceptual artists as are most artists nowadays as you dont really get many artists who just paint for the hell of painting.
is the shift in how work is looked at and experienced, and in who is expected to look at it
and experience it. The Conceptual art movement, which began in the 1960s, set out with
the aim to shake things up. And the proponents of the movement were successful.
American and British artists like Sol LeWitt, John Baldessari, and Joseph Kosuth
effectively trashed traditional aesthetic aims, cut down the critics, and created a discourse
driven by the removal of the object in art-making. The social and historical relevance of
the movement is undeniable. Yet there is an air of exclusivity in the work of the initiators
of Conceptual art. It was surely not art for the masses. It was cerebral, aloof, and
inaccessible. The audience was kept intentionally small. The publications were
distributed tepidly. Nonetheless, Conceptual art became a fixture in the art world, and it
affected other aspects of visual culture. Advertising, popular cinema, product
design—these things worked in concert with Conceptual art, as they borrowed from one
another, without ever fully acknowledging this system of interdependence. Still, the
public had little direct exposure to Conceptual art, although, as is the case in most all art
movements, they contributed to the necessity of its invention.
Needless to say, things have changed. Conceptual art is no longer exclusive or
shocking—it has been around since the 60s, after all. Forty years is a long time to
maintain the je ne sais quois it achieved so potently early on. Over the course of
Conceptual art’s history, its physical presentation has changed significantly. Artists who
were not involved with the early Conceptual artists, due to difference in time or location,
but who shared their value system of idea over object, found innovative, interactive ways
to engage the audience. Lygia Clark has challenged and captivated the viewer’s senses
with her “proposals,”1 for instance. Felix Gonzalez-Torres infused comedy and comfort
into his thematically somber candy piles. Conceptual art has become an accepted part of
the contemporary artistic conversation because it has reached out and touched the viewer
in some capacity. No longer is the message restricted to the flat white plane. No longer
does it feel antiseptic or detached. No longer does the cerebral meaning outweigh the
personal one. Since its remote beginning, ConceptuaLayoutl art, due to its appearance and
implications, has become relatable for the contemporary audience.
I think that this piece from the text is quite interesting as it tells you how art has evolved in the conceptual art world. Before the artists had a much more quiet approach to their art as if it was quite personal and only for the people they chose to show it to. Nowadays i feel that art is for everyone and you can have it anywhere and for as long as you like. The curatorial methods were quite different to how we are wanting ours to be as we are trying to get out there to the masses and to try advertise ourselves as much as we can. I feel that most of our pupils in our class are conceptual artists as are most artists nowadays as you dont really get many artists who just paint for the hell of painting.
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