“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.”
— Sol Lewitt
Sol Lewitt was known for creating instructions as his artwork while other people paint them. Much like how an orchestra performs music created by a composer, he is the artist composing ideas for others to physically produce. For this particular trailblazing artist, there is no need to create any material work for it to be considered an artwork; the idea is the artwork.
During the radically changing 1960s in America, yet another art movement emerged. It shifted the focus from the material and visual qualities of an artwork to the intellectual engagement it invites. In conceptual art, the concept, or idea, behind the work becomes the artwork itself, often taking the form of instructions, text, or other non-traditional media.
Artists such as Sol LeWitt, Joseph Kosuth, and Marcel Duchamp were pioneers in demonstrating that the meaning and context surrounding an object can hold as much significance as the object itself. The movement questions the role of the artist, the viewer, and the institution in the creation and reception of art, encouraging a more critical and open-ended approach to artistic experiences.
This exhibition explores modern artworks from the permanent collection that were made to be different, to question the traditional and academic definitions of art, and occasionally to inject some humor into it. These artworks map out ideas or concepts, rather than embody a materialistic masterpiece. Ideas take precedence here, not aesthetics.
