Conceptual Art- The misunderstood art

 Conceptual art – Freeing art from the tyranny of aesthetics!

 

Some examples of conceptual art by me! 

One of the least understood genres of art is conceptual art . People and my friends mistake it for contemporary or modern art, but no …conceptual art is an entirelydifferent genre. It’s like saying everything made of cheese is a pizza! In fact as the reclusive conceptual artist, Stanley Braun famously quipped “ Conceptual art is art freed from the tyranny of aesthetics!” I would like to add freedom from shape, form, public sensibilities, or anything to do with conventional art form .

Conceptual art is a concept , a construct , an idea. So for the uninitiated, “Conceptual Art” really is an idea that the artist wants to bring forth, and hence the concept behind the work is more important than the finished art piece in itself . It emerged as an art movement in the 1960s and the term usually refers to mostly installation art , including painting etc that represent the idea or concept . The whole point of conceptual art is to not define it within “strict definitions and boundaries”, so there eis really no telling, what is art and what is not?

Life is a concept and so is conceptual art as you cannot define life , it is next to impossible to define conceptual art and put it within boundaries, what one can do is “negation “, say what is “NOT” conceptual art . Well, typical drawing , landscapes, potraits aren’t really conceptual art but can be if they are threaded within a concept and a part of a whole larger picture !

OMG! Back to square one, we cannot even say – this is not conceptual art, because we cannot define it byboundaries. It is as limitless as any man’s ideas and dreams !

 

“The most fundamentally visionary feature of conceptual art is the way in which it proclaims itself to be an art of the mind rather than the senses,” says conceptual artist Shirin Neshat . It in fact , rejects traditional artistic media because it locates the artwork at the level of ideas rather than the skill of drawing or painting and everyone needs to see it for the idea not the aesthetics of it . 
It doesn’t matter how it looks, what matters is what it says?!

 

What inspired conceptual art?

Conceptual artists were influenced by the brutal simplicity of Minimalism, yes that is true , but they rejected Minimalism's embrace of the conventions of sculpture and painting as mainstays of artistic production. 

 

For Conceptual artists, art need not look like a traditional work of art or take any physical form. Everyday objects,text, as well as imagery, along with a variety of ephemeral, typically everyday materials and "found objects"are all conceptual artists’ armoury.

 

Then, what is the difference between conceptual art and contemporary art?

 

Conceptual art is actually a form of contemporary art, in which the idea itself is valued more than the finished art object or the ways of its creation. The idea is in charge of it all, and the execution of this idea is not so important. The thought behind it and theemotions it brings about in the viewer are all that matters!

 

How do you make a Conceptual art piece?

Throw away any previous idea of what art is that you've ever had, that is the starting point of conceptual art !then, choose the message you would like to get across. Focus on this message or idea and really find the spirit of that idea that is conceptual art !

 

 Conceptual artists have expertly changed our mindsets about what we considered “true art” by challenging ideological authority, questioning the limits of what is true or real. It really makes you think, doesn't it? 

Controversial 

Of course! Anything outside the box is controversial because it make the general public uncomfortable as they cannot “put it in a box “ and categorize it and organizing and categorizing is an act of “being in control” which conceptual art does not give to the viewers or the critics ! Hence it is loathed upon .

Famously, in 1976, Carl Andre's Equivalent VIII was put on display at the Tate, creating an uproar in the press. The sculpture, 120 bricks arranged as a rectangle, was ridiculed as a “con trick” by the American artist on the British public; with Britain's biggest gallery buying a pile of bricks. The work was vandalized with paint, but has grown to become one of Tate’s most loved and infamous works.

With unceasing questioning and restless curiosity conceptual artists have pushed the boundaries and possibilities of art into new places. Its often met with ridicule and mockery but what “different” thing isn’t?