Contextual and Cultural Referencing in Art and Design: Conceptual Art

The work of conceptual artists has a direct link to Marcel Duchamp’s readymades. Duchamps readymades shook the very core of art at the time he started making them because they took the art process and annulled the painting and drawing and the usual, and the art was centred around the idea. Joseph Kosuth’s One and Three Chairs was an example of a readymade, but the real art was not the chair itself, but more the concept.

So if you went to an art exhibition in the conceptual era, you would not see beautiful paintings, but it would be more like seeing a piece and seeing the reasoning behind why the artist put it there and how it interacts with its surroundings. This is what conceptual art is. This process is more commonly known as the analysis of art. This analysis does not even need to take a physical form. This thought process makes the art even more and more personal, giving more emphasis on the artist’s ideas and views. The conceptualists created art that is about art, pushing art to the limit by questioning the very concept of art.

The artwork though was not finished when it was ready and installed by the artist. The interaction of the viewer with the artwork is also seen as the artwork. Because conceptual art is so personal, it would be sometimes difficult for the viewer to connect to the artists views, and in some cases come up with their own views. This was known as “institutional critique” which is interpreted as an even greater shift away form the traditional art, to make the society’s opinion more important.

One and three chairs Joseph Kosuth

Another great pioneer in the conceptual art movement was Joseph Kosuth. He used a linguistic approach towards conceptual art, creating Photostats such as “idea” and “meaning”. With these he also got certification that these are his works of art and they can be reproduced for exhibition. This is Kosuth’s attempt to make the physical art less valuable. This strategy of his is done to undermine the meaning and uniqueness of artworks.