What is conceptual art
Conceptual art is the name of a artistic movement in which the concept has priority over the object. It was born in the 1960s and manifested itself in different countries such as the United States, England, France and Italy, among others.
The purpose of conceptual art is to promote intellectual reflection processes over the stimulation of visual sensations. In this way, it is based on the principle that the viewer participates in the same process as the creator of the concept.
These types of approaches lead to a fundamental idea: there can be an aesthetic experience even when there is no presence of an artistic object.
By questioning the preconceived idea of the transcendence of the artistic object, conceptual art opens a new field of aesthetic exploration that leads to the formation of multiple trends and groups in different latitudes.
The movement has its antecedents in the technique of readymade developed by Marcel Duchamp and other Dada artists. He readymade It consists of taking an everyday object, decontextualizing it and intervening on it.
The term “conceptual art” is taken from an essay by Henry Flynt in 1961, titled Concept art. In this essay, Flynt takes a tour of the transformations of art throughout the 20th century. Conceptual art has also been called information art, art software either idea art.
Conceptual art was born in a very controversial decade, due to the emergence of multiple agendas: on the one hand, the Vietnam War, whose scandalous details had been revealed in the independent press. On the other hand, the investiture of feminism, the appearance and development of information and communication technologies and the different social revolutions of the time.
See also: Contemporary art, Pop art and Abstract art.
Characteristics of conceptual art
Values the concept above aesthetics.Identifies and denounces problems in the social environment.It is controversial.Uses satire and irony.It covers different artistic disciplines (music, literature, plastic arts, etc.).Uses different media and techniques: video art; readymade; Photography; performance; art-object; facility; collageamong others.
Most important groups and artists of conceptual art
Among the most important movements we can mention the following: the Movement Fluxus, organized by George Maciunas and featuring Yoko Ono; the movement Art & Language, created by Terry Atkinson, David Bainbridge, Michael Baldwin and Harold Hurrell; and the movement mail artpromoted by Ray Johnson, among others.
As individual figures we can mention: Carl Andre, Robert Barry, Douglas Huebler, Joseph Kosuth, Lawrence Weiner, Yves Klein and Piero Manzoni.