1960
Conceptual art
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The style began to form in the second half of 1960s. This term usually refers to art created before the mid-1970s.
Synopsis:
Conceptualism was an art movement, in which the idea (concept) that lies in the basis of the artist’s work turns out to be more important than its artistic realization. At the same time, the artist’s idea, which he might take from life, philosophy, psychoanalysis or politics, can be implemented by any means. These can be texts, installations, video films, audio recordings, and performances. It could be possible to show one’s work by exhibiting it at a gallery, or by creating it “on site” (site-specific art) – then the landscape would become an integral part of the concept.
Although Henry Flynt from the Fluxus group used the term “conceptual art” regarding his plays in 1961, Conceptual art became a definite movement only in the late 1960s. The first works were a series of works by American artist Joseph Kosuth and works of English artists Terry Atkinson and Michael Baldwin, who were the founders of the Art & Language group, as well as paintings by John Baldessari exhibited in Los Angeles in 1968.
The term “conceptual art” was first used to refer to this particular movement in an article written by Sol LeWitt in 1967.
Key artists:
Founders: Joseph Kosuth (principal theorist), Robert Barry, Douglas Huebler, J. Wilson; bright representatives: John Baldessari, Dan Graham. In the UK, the pioneers of conceptual art were Terry Atkinson and Michael Baldwin.
The younger generation is represented by Marina Abramovic (Serbia), Vanessa Beecroft (Italy), Simon Starling (England), Ottmar Hoerl (Germany), Yoko Ono (Japan), the Moscow group – I. Kabakov, Rimma and Vareriy Gerlovin, A. Monastyrsky, the association “Collective Action”.
Key ideas:
1) The basis of Conceptualism is the institutional criticism of art: the desire to reject the focus on the subject in favor of interest in cultural values.
2) The meaning of art, according to conceptualists, is the transfer of thoughts and theories in order to form new ideas in the very process of creative search.
3) In Conceptual art, the concept and its component idea are the most important aspect of the work. Using this form of art, the artist plans everything and decides all in advance; the execution is a formal matter.
4) Artworks explain themselves. They should not cause emotions, as they are created for intellectual perception, and the artist is seen as a generator of ideas, not the creator of certain things.
5) Conceptualist works often represent only gestures or projects that indicate the possibility of the emergence of art – this activates life itself, confirms that “art as an idea” arises only as a product of human intelligence.
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Solomon LeWitt, an American artist, sculptor and theorist, played a leading role in the development of Conceptual art and Minimalism. Coming from a family of Russian-Jewish emigrants, he was inspired by the works of Russian avant-garde painters and Constructivists, especially Malevich, whose Black Square served as the basis for the emergence of his unique geometric aesthetics.
September 9, 1928, Hartford, Connecticut (the USA) - April 8, 2007, New York (the USA)
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Marina Abramovic is a Serbian and American artist, famous all over the world thanks to her extraordinary and shocking performances. She is rightfully considered one of the best in her genre, and her ideas related to physical pain and even a threat to life and health make viewers rethink their perception of many things and step far beyond the boundaries of the common understanding of the world and themselves.
November 30, 1946, Belgrade (Yugoslavia)
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Yoko Ono is an English and American innovative artist, writer, and musician of Japanese descent. Yoko became known to the general public largely thanks to her marriage to John Lennon, a musician and member of the legendary Beatles band. However, long before this union, she clearly showed her talent in Conceptual art, becoming one of the pioneers of installation and performance.
February 18, 1933, Tokyo, Japan
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Joseph Kosuth is an American contemporary artist, one of the pioneers and a vivid representative of Conceptual art. He is known throughout the world for his installations; in particular, his composition "One and Three Chairs" has become a classic example of the style. As a 23-year-old student, he received a grant from the Cassandra Foundation with the “blessing” of master Marcel Duchamp to implement his innovative ideas.The artist was the first to deeply explore the relations between ideas, images, and words used to describe them. He used words instead of visual images of any other kind, that is, he completely excluded objects in order to focus on the meaning conveyed exclusively by the language. The awards given to the artist most eloquently speak of the recognition of Joseph Kosuth's unique talent. The main ones are the Brandeis and Frederic Weisman Prizes, the Menzione d'Onore at the Venice Biennale, the title of Cavalier from the French government, the highest award of the Republic of Austria for achievements in science and culture. Since 2014, the neon installation of Kosuth is a part of a permanent exhibition at the Paris Louvre.Many of the installations of Kosuth included excerpts from literature and works on philosophy and psychology. The quotes are filled with an important universal meaning – this is how the artist makes his audience reflect on the problems of personal identity, poverty and racism, loneliness and the lessons of history. Avoiding any clear or too explicit comments of his own, Joseph Kosuth realizes himself both as a modern artist, philosopher and moralist.
1945
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A German artist, one of the most famous and expensive contemporary painters. Gerhard Richter showed his talent in several styles of fine art. His photorealistic portraits with blurry contours are exhibited at the most famous museums in the world, and abstract canvases are sold at auctions for a lot of money.Starting his career in East Germany, the artist worked in a realistic style; however, having become acquainted with the works of contemporary artists Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol, he sharply changed his painting towards avant-garde art. A few months before the fall of the Berlin Wall, he fled to West Berlin, where he started to search for his place in art. Based on photographs and products of popular culture, Richter created a vivid style, which included both realistic and completely abstract expression.In addition to painting, Gerhard Richter is known as the author of several major design projects. In 2007, he created the famous "Pixel Stained Glass" in Cologne Cathedral, which got the most controversial reviews. Instead of traditional biblical scenes, the artist created an impressive mosaic of multi-coloured glass, which consists of 11 thousand 250 coloured squares of eighty shades. It is interesting that the artist performed the work as a gift to the cathedral, without taking a dime for his painstaking labour.
1932
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A famous British sculptor of Indian descent, a member of the New British Sculpture group, the author of modernist works in many large cities around the world.Rethinking the rational approach to minimalism and the provocative sound of Conceptual art, the artist added his vivid emotions, unique worldview and the charm of primitive art.The sculptures of Anish Kapoor are a peculiar game of forms, colours and textures. His work, made of a variety of materials, combines the desire for freedom, harmony and balance of objects in space. The famous work of the artist - "Cloud Gate" in Chicago nicknamed the "bean" is a vivid example of the inventiveness of its author. It creates an alternative reality and attracts viewers by its "dialogue with the cosmos". Anish Kapoor is a laureate of various contests and winner of several major awards in the field of fine art. During his long creative career, the artist was awarded the Order of the British Empire and created a large-scale art installation in the United Kingdom. The exhibition of his works became the most popular in the history of the state.Anish Kapoor does not cease to strive for discoveries and impressive finds. He has all the ideas and original ideas that no doubt surprised and “blew” the whole world.
1954
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An American artist and theorist, the central figure of the avant-garde of the 60s, the discoverer of the happening - a form of art in which the primary attention is paid to the process of creation. Allan Kaprow appreciated the moment of action in painting, putting it above the result.The fleeting, often quick and spontaneous actions of Kaprow erase the line between art and everyday life and immerse participants in the work, involving them in the creative process and destroying the notorious “fourth wall” between the work and the audience.In his theoretical writings, Allan Kaprow said that after the discoveries of Jackson Pollock and other Abstract Expressionists, painting could no longer exist in its original form. It must go beyond the canvas and move into everyday life.The master called himself “non-artist” and his works “anti-paintings”. “Life is much more interesting than art”, said Kaprow and created events outside galleries and museums: in courtyards, apartments, streets, squares and parking lots. Sometimes his works are even absurd - such as building houses from ice under the scorching California sun; they change the very perception of art and turn everyday life processes into creative acts.The principles of the creation of happening, which Allan Kaprow outlined in his work “How to Make a Happening”, were enthusiastically accepted by many post-war artists who tried to take a fresh look at modern creative methods. Thanks to the discoveries of the American innovator, such styles as installation, performance and conceptual art were further developed.
1927 - 2006
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An American contemporary conceptual sculptor and artist. The art of Bruce Nauman includes a wide range of creative interests: performance and installation, photography and art video, works for the media, printing and industrial production. In all areas, the artist was attracted by the nature of communication, problems of the language and the role of the artist as a manipulator of visual symbols by the means of communication.Nauman received numerous awards in several areas of artistic practice and an honorary doctorate in arts from the American Art Institute. His works are widely represented around the world at the expositions of the most prestigious museums and galleries. The monumental creations of Bruce Nauman inspired many other artists in the second half of the 20th century and continues to be in demand in the 21st century. In 2004, Time Magazine named him as one of the 100 most influential people in the art world. In 2006, according to the rating of Artfacts.net, Bruce Nauman was number one among living artists.
1941
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Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp was a French and American artist, an art theorist, one of the founders of such art movements as Dadaism and Surrealism.Was born into a wealthy family. His mother, brothers and sister were engaged in painting, and Marcel grew up in a creative atmosphere, which contributed to the early manifestation of his talent. Following the older brothers, he began to paint in the style of impressionism, presenting quite interesting works from the age of 14.Marcel Duchamp, despite a small number of his works, was one of the most influential figures of fine art after the First World War, a genius and a rebel, who pushed the scope of painting beyond what was permitted. The artist was the author of the "ready-made" method, being the first to use the idea of creating art objects from the most common objects, such as a bicycle wheel and even a urinal. The unusual and sometimes shocking creativity of Duchamp has opened wide opportunities for the further development of avant-garde art all over the world.At the end of his career, the artist departed from painting, preferring to use already finished objects for his works, which he called "ready-made", or creating voluminous collages. In addition to his artistic creativity, Marcel Duchamp starred in films, wrote articles and studied chess, in which he was a professional. Thanks to his versatile and unordinary talent, he left a bright mark in the art of the early twentieth century and laid the foundation for the emergence of completely new methods and trends in painting.
1887 - 1968
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A German sculptor, draftsman, one of the leading theorists of Postmodernism, professor at the Academy of Arts in Dusseldorf, a public figure. Joseph Beuys was actively involved in issues of humanism, social philosophy and anthroposophy, which led to his expanded concept of fine art, the creation of social sculpture. The creator is considered one of the founders of such performance art as fluxus, which became popular in Germany. In this regard, Andy Warhol called Beuys the “ideal partner”.The activities of Joseph Boyce cover four areas: material works in the traditional artistic sense (sculptures, paintings, drawings, art objects), staging and execution of actions and stock fluxes; works on the theory of art used in teaching, as well as socio-political activities (organization of parties, meetings with politicians, the Dalai Lama, etc.).Beuys is world-famous as one of the most important innovators of 20th-century art. The largest collection of the master’s works is held at the Berlin Hamburger-Bahnhof Museum, which also houses the most comprehensive media archive. The museum is a center for the study of the artist’s work. From 2008 to 2014, the Joseph Beuys Theater was operating in Moscow.
1921 - 1986
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German painter and sculptor, key figure in Neo-expressionism and one of post-war Germany’s most famous artists. He is famous for using atypical materials such as straw, ash, clay, lead, wood, glass and shellac in his works. He also creates images for theaters and books.Kiefer’s style has developed under the influence of the philosophy of Kabbalah, mysticism and works of different spiritualists such as Robert Fludd. His works include symbolic elements connected with national identity, theology and mysticism.
1945
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A Chinese dissident artist, sculptor, architect, installation master, social and political activist. Ai Weiwei is known throughout the world as one of the creators of the project of the Olympic stadium "Bird's Nest" in Beijing and the author of bright, most often provocative compositions in which he draws attention to critical social problems.Many of the artist's works are criticized by the Chinese communist regime, for which he was repeatedly persecuted by the government. In 2011, Ai Weiwei was arrested at a Beijing airport and searched; Internet resources related to his name were blocked, and he was banned from leaving China. These events caused a great resonance in the world of art. Many artists and art figures supported Weiwei and organized protests in major cities in Europe and America.The works of the Chinese artist are art objects made of a wide variety of things, ranging from a huge chandelier to children's backpacks and sunflower seeds. Each of his works carries a strong emotional and semantic load; it is designed to draw public attention to unresolved problems and injustice in the structure of society in his country. Weiwei’s actual social theme, courage and perseverance in the fight for justice together with his original artistic vision make him one of the most prominent figures in contemporary art.
1957
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In this work, Sol LeWitt used two white cubes, which he connected slightly shifting them relatively each other. According to the artist, the most interesting characteristic of the cube is that it practically does not represent any interest in itself and therefore serves as an excellent material for its meaningless conceptual compositions.
1972
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One of the well-known modular structures of Sol LeWitt consists of five cubes horizontally interconnected. The cube became the main form of the artist’s works in the mid-1960s, and all of his sculptures of this period consisted of these geometric elements, with different sizes and colours.
1965
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Ai Weiwei prepared this interesting large-scale performance-project for the world-wide exhibition-festival “Documenta”, which takes place every five years in the German city of Kassel. He invited 1001 Chinese readers of his blog to this exhibition, paying them for travel, accommodation and other facilities. For ordinary Chinese people, such a trip turned out to be a real fairy tale, since they could not even dream of the opportunity to visit Europe. In addition to inviting people, the artist also acquired 1001 chairs of the Qin Dynasty - the artist placed pieces of furniture throughout the territory allocated for the exhibition.
2007