"CONCEPTUAL ART"

1) Why is the "viewer" an important element in conceptual art? In an article titled "Conceptual Art" by Tony Godfrey he says, "Because the work does not take a traditional form it demands a more active response from the viewer, indeed it could be argued that the conceptual work of art only truly exists in the viewer's mental participation" (p 1).

2) Why was it so difficult for people to accept the "Fountain" by Duchamp, as art? People had a hard time seeing "Fountain" as art because it was not the traditional type of work that we were used to see and Godfrey says, "Before Fountain people had rarely been made to think what art actually was, or how it could be manifested; they had just assumed that art would be either painting or sculpture. But very few could see Fountain as a sculpture" (p 3).

3) What question did Duchamp pose with his "readymades"? The question that is asked by Duchamp's readymades is, can an everyday object be art? The answer is yes with conditions for example, like Tom Friedman who uses objects like pencils, chewing gum, and tooth picks to create art. Some of his works are on this blog so please take a peek.

4) Why is it difficult to categorize Conceptual art in the context of traditional art? As in question number two, people have been use to seeing art in the forms of painting and sculpture.

5) A quote from the article that caught my attention is. "Symptomatically, there has never been a generally accepted definition of Conceptual art, though many have been proposed" (p 9). The eye that views the work must decide for themselves if it is indeed art or not.

DUCHAMP'S "FOUNTAIN" can be seen at the web site. http://becksearlescott.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/fountain.jpg