Can a spoon be art? or is the idea of the spoon art?

Focusing on conceptual art and the work of one artist from the movement consider the potential legacy of the movement and your selected artists on the work of Barbra Kruger OR general ideal.

Conceptual art can truly be anything you want. It goes past any traditional standards in art. It is the art form where the idea and meaning behind the piece is far more important than its physical properties. In the process of conceptual art, all the planning and research is done first then they can start to think about how they are going to show their idea. The name conceptual art is given to many artworks created between the 1960’s to the 1970’s from artist such as Sol Lewitt, joseph kosuth and Robert Rauschenberg. However, conceptual art could be seen way before that in the famous piece “fountain” created in 1917 by Marcel Duchamp which is known to be the first piece of conceptual art challenging what is art?

Conceptual art can be in many different forms from: performance, installations and ephemera. There were no limits. They believed that appearance almost got in the way of the idea of the piece and the idea itself should be considered art. Many people don’t get conceptual art and disregard it as art. In my opining concept art is all in your head. Its what you feel when looking at the piece and what you believe it is. Even though it’s hard to know what the artist original idea is, you as a viewer make your own questions and concepts. People believe art is a visual thing. It’s something you look at and admire however, concept art abandons that idea. They wanted to show that art can be a simple thought, an idea or feeling.

Through this essay I will be looking into what is conceptual art? And the visual and conceptual themes of the movement. I will be looking into the work of Barbra Kruger, an American conceptual artist whose work is recognisable worldwide. Through bold headings and imagery Kruger’s work is very powerful often focusing on themes like feminism, consumerism and sexuality. I will be looking how Kruger played a part in the conceptual art movement throughout history.

Key aims

Conceptual artist wanted to challenge the definition of art. They hated the fact that art throughout history art has been purely judged on beauty, skill and rarity. They admired the work from artists such as Duchamp’s ready-mades which changed the meaning of the objects themselves. In the post war era, artists wanted a change in art culture. Through this rebellion of traditional art came “readymades” a form of art where artist used everyday found objects and presented them as art. Readymades helped set a scene for conceptual art as the idea was more important than the finished product. The “fountain” is described as one of the most influential pieces of art in the 20th century. The piece is made up of a white porcelain urinal placed on its side and and ladled “R. Mutt 1917” Duchamp’s readymade symbolised a couple of things. He is showing that you can turn a simple everyday object into something admirable and even a toilet can be worth a lot of money if it has an artist name on it.

Conceptual art challenges a “work of art” They wanted to push the boundaries of what makes art, art. They wanted to break away from tradition and create a new kind of art. Conceptual artists were inspired by the minimalist movement, they liked their bold use of simplicity. Many conceptual artists believed that the appearance of the piece gets in the way. They believed the physical appearance was a distraction and blocked you from the meaning of the piece. Concept artists started to reduce the materials and found objects to a minimal which is knowns as the “dematerialization” of art. By using less materials, conceptual artists wanted to emphases the physical form of the art isn’t that important and the meaning or idea is what makes it art. Michael craig-martin, a famous conceptual artist piece “An oak tree” explored that theme. The piece is of a glass of water placed on a glass shelf. Along side the glass is a printed conversation claiming the glass of water is a full-grown oak tree. The meaning behind the piece is that physical form of the piece has nothing to do with the meaning, its all what you believe in and belief is at the heart of art.

Politics and Nihilism

A lot of conceptual art can be ladled as political art, with key socio-political themes. Conceptual artists use their art to put across their feelings about what’s going on around us and their thoughts on politics. Artists such as Marina Abramovic, Yoko ono and Barbra Kruger set the path and wanted to create powerful art combining art and politics. Conceptual art can often be controversial. The artists aren’t afraid to make a scene. Many artists use their art as their voice putting forward their views on the travesties around us. Conceptual art can often relate to “Nihilism” which believes that human existence is without meaning, purpose or truth. Conceptual art is said to be connected to Nihilism as Key influences on conceptual art like the dada movement, surrealism and cubism were criticised for being nihilism however embraced it. Conceptual art also connects to nihilism through its dematerialising of their artwork but how many pieces of conceptual art only lasted a short period of time and would never happen again. This links to the idea that nothing last forever and in the end its pointless.

Barbra Kruger

Barbra Kruger was born on the 26th of January 1945 in new jersey. Kruger was born into a middle-class family, her father working at petrol garage and her mother was a legal sectary. she studied at Syracuse University for one year however chose to leave due to the death of her father. Kruger then went on to study at Parson’s school of Design in New York in 1965. From then on Kruger found her passion for graphic design and picture editing while she was working as a graphic designer for magazines and freelance editing. Kruger’s talent was clear to see which led to her getting a design job at Condé Nast Publications and was soon awarded head designer. Kruger went on to do many more things such as; film, television, music and magazines. In 1975/6 Kruger started to fall out of passion with her work, she felt her abstract work was meaningless and lacked purpose. Feeling so detached, Kruger took a break in creating art and started teaching at the University of California. Its there she found the work from Walter Benjamin and Roland Barthes, two philosophers which inspired Kruger in many ways. Then in 1977, Kruger got back into art. Exploring the iconic style using photography and text.

Kruger is known to be a strong feminist creating feminist art alongside conceptual art. Kruger fought for women’s rights and equally using her art to get the message across. Kruger’s work was not taken well at first being ladled provocative and vulgar. At that time, it was unusual to see art so sexualized and opinionated and epically the fact it came from a woman didn’t always go down well. Kruger knew this, she knew that her work would Couse a scene and people would be talking about it. The more political and controversial the art is, the more light was shed on to. Kruger wasn’t afraid to show her opinions and her beliefs, she used her art to send the message that many people were too scared to which makes her a key figure in art history.

Visual and conceptual analysis

Kruger has a signature style to her work. Taking the skills and techniques she gained from working as graphic designer, Kruger continued using technology to create digital collages. Using black and white found objects Kruger used images from advertising magazines and photography as a base for her collages. Kruger chose not to add colour to the images. This adds an untouched feel to the pictures which links to the idea the Kruger is trying to show how the “traditional” or old-fashioned views on a woman throughout history hasn’t changed to much. These vintage images were cleverly selected, highlighting factors such as: consumerism and the need to buy and the unrealistic beauty standards of women and gender roles within society. On top of these monochromatic images, Kruger digitally overplayed them with large bold text using a reverse technique with white text on a red background. The cations used were mainly questions and slogans often using the pronouns “I”, “we” “you” By using these pronouns it makes Kruger’s more personal, you feel as she is addressing you personally making her work more powerful. The text used in her work often contradicted the meaning behind the image giving them the two separate meanings. You first look at the image and think it might be an advert however, reading the text you start to question the meaning. The combination between the text and imagery creates a contrast linking to the dramatic issues being addressed.

Using colour, Kruger’s work really stands out. It is her choice of colour palette which makes her art consistent and iconic. The use of black, white and red in her work came from her inspirations from the Constructivist Alexander Rodechenko who was a Russian artist and photographer from the 1920s who used made political posters using the same limited colour pallet. A contrast is created by using the monochromatic images with the red text on top framing the image. The red and white clash making the text pop from the picture and easy to read. The loud red colour is very much in your face, because it is the only colour it really draws your eyes making you focus on the text. By using this limited colour scheme Kruger wanted the imagery and text to be the focus in your art. It is straight to the point and blunt as you aren’t distracted by multiple colours or patterns. Kruger wanted her work to be seen by the public and make a difference almost like a protest. her work was often large scale, printed onto billboards and large banners. There is the element of shock within her work due to the large scale. It’s in your face, with the collages almost looking done on you making them seem very intimidating and powerful.

Conclusion

To conclude this essay, I think conceptual art was as important throughout history as it is today. Conceptual allows you to be open minded and believe what you want. I am a strong believer that art an be anything if you say it is and no one h the power to disagree. Art is an opinion, a feel a thought which can be shown in many ways. I believe the legacy of conceptual art to challenge the boundaries and to push definitions is inspiring and artists such as Barbra Kruger have really shown that the mining of something is fa more important and powerful than it looks.