Conceptual Art Article

1. Why is the "viewer" an important element in conceptual art?

-The article states that, "conceptual art is not about forms or materials, but about ideas and meanings." I think this statement is saying that the ideas and meanings come from the viewer, therefore making the viewer an important element of conceptual art. It's meant to be thought about when looking at it.

2. Why was it so difficult for people to accept the "Fountain" by Duchamp, as art?

-It said that before the Fountain, people were rarely required to really question what art was. Art was either paintings or sculptures, so there wasn't much interpretation or variation in art. After the "Fountain" was put out there, it was a lot different and people had to question, "is this art?" and if that can be art. The urinal was not a statement, but a question for it's viewers and I think that's why it was difficult to accept it.

3. What question did Duchamp pose with his "readymades"? Explain with examples.

-I think the main questions he posed were, is this art? Can this be art? What does this mean? With his urinal, the article says that people had to question it with those questions. It was hard to see what that urinal meant. His picture of Mona Lisa with the beard was the same way. Can that be art? Is it just a copy of someone else's work?

4. Why is it difficult to categorize Conceptual art in the context of traditional art? Explain using examples.

-Conceptual art is just hard to categorize because it seems to be different for every artist. The article talked about how many definitions of conceptual art there is, and that there's probably as many definitions as there are artists. With traditional art you pretty much have three categories: paintings, sculptures, and drawings. Conceptual art can pretty much be anything, so it's hard to put it into categories. Also because it's more about the idea and meaning behind it.

5. Choose a quote from the article that you find interesting and explain. Be sure to cite page number.

-"A work of art normally behaves as if it is a statement: 'This is a sculpture of the Old Testament hero David by Michelangelo'; or 'This is a portrait of the Mona Lisa'. " (p. 6) I thought this quote was interesting because i've never thought of it this way, but it makes a lot of sense. It's saying that with non conceptual art you can look at it and say oh that is __________ (fill in the blank). It's not really a question if it is art. With conceptual art, it is not as much as a statement as it is a question. We have to question the meaning of it and how it is art.