Conceptual art
Conceptual art, sometimes called idea art, is art in which the ideas embodied by a piece are more central to the work than the means used to create it. It was described by the artist Sol LeWitt like so:
- In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work. When an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all of the planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair. The idea becomes a machine that makes the art.
Conceptual art first came to be made in the 1960s and 1970s. It is generally seen as an expansion of minimalism. Many artists turned to conceptualism because of a belief that creating commercially marketable works was in some way unethical.
Conceptual art often makes use of materials such as photographs, maps, and videos. It is sometimes reduced to a set of instructions documenting how to make a work, but stopping short of actually making it--the idea behind the art is more important than the artefact itself.
Out of this concept artforms like fluxus and mail art have emerged.
Conceptual artists
See also
