Conceptual Art: It’s All About the Idea
Is Felix Gonzalez-Torres’ “‘Untitled’ (Portrait of Ross in L.A.)Marc Wathieu, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.)
Have you seen a pile of candy in an art museum and thought to yourself, “Why is this art?” What about those strange phrases painted on the wall at the Hirshhorn? “A RUBBER BALL THROWN ON THE SEA“? What is that? What were these artists thinking and why are these things considered art?
Turns out, the concept of the works are much more important than the actual finalized pieces. It’s called conceptual art, an art movement that began in the 1960s and uses diverse artistic practices such as performance and language to focus on the concept or idea of art instead of the art object. Hard to pin down, conceptual art resists definition.
In this lecture, we will explore performance art, language and art, and conceptualist theory to understand why some of the strangest art works end up in the world’s leading museums.
Location
The Third Floor/Slim's Diner
4201 Georgia Ave. NW
Washington,
DC
20011
Neighborhood: Petworth
Classes will take place on the third floor. Enter through the side door on Ninth Street NW. This location has stairs, but no elevator.
Past event