The Fault in Conceptual Artists

This essay will focus on why and how conceptual artists sets out to destroy or undermine the value of physical pleasure in art's making and reception. In order to discuss this issue, first we need to look back on history to examine the historical context of Conceptual Art. During 1960s, the world is in a turbulent state experiencing all sorts of crises . After the World War One and the World War Two, the traditional value and institutional system had been overthrown. The collapse of old world politics, social order and authority, moreover, rise of Feminism, racial conflict between white and black, intervention of Vietnam War forced artists to challenge the conventional system and authority. In terms of technology, after the invention of photography, artists were not too much concern about lifelike representation. Picture, music, tape, neon lights...everything on earth can be vehicle of arts, which created infinite possibility of art making. Many conceptual artists are also influenced by philosopher from 20th century, such as Ludwig Wittgenstein, Walter Benjamin, Karl Barth, they raise the question of perceiving and representation. Conceptual art is also emerged, developed and influenced from other art movements such as Dada, Pop art and Minimal Art. Mary Anne stated in her article 'Conceptual Art' that 'Modernism had historically unfolded and artists began to work outside of painting frames...artists moved from morphological questions to questions about the production of meaning and value and what makes a particular object or practice into art'. It might not be easy to clearly define Conceptual Art because Conceptual Art could hardly be called a artistic style, in different period of its history, it has different critique approach...

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...l cease to exist. If it permanently existed in gallery space, then it will lose its original meaning. His 1973 installation work Untitled further critique the art institution. He sandblasted layers of paint that on the gallery walls and ceilings to reveal the brown plaster surface beneath, partition were removed and only natural light can be used to light up the space. The white cube is completely absent. It is this absence of white cube make the logic of institutional system clearer. In this white cube, the commercialization of artwork embodies the vulgar fetishism in capitalist society. In order to free art from this fetishism logic, questioning the condition and limitation of institution became the major concern of conceptual artists. As previously stated, it requires art not being purchased and traded as commodity, but rather concept can be owned by anyone.