Sol LeWitt Sentences on Conceptual Art
Although I find all of LeWitt’s sentences to be important thoughts when considering Conceptual Art…
Those I Find Most Relevant:
1. Irrational judgments lead to new experience.
• This idea is beautiful and fits perfectly with my experiences as an artist and my understanding of historical artists and art movements. The artists most interesting and successful often take perceived irrational chances.
15. Since no form is intrinsically superior to another, the artist may use any form, from an expression of words (written or spoken) to physical reality, equally.
• This idea opens the door wide for subject matter… freeing the artist from the bonds of symbolic representation and introducing an intellectual quality to art equal to practices of literature and philosophy. Traditional rules of art have negatively placed much importance and limitation on subject and have done much to deconstruct the tenants of thought provoking ideas in art.
21. Perception of ideas leads to new ideas.
• I like the idea that with conclusion and therefore a particular perception we are introduced with a number of new ideas and concepts along the intellectual journey and with the conclusion of our original idea we have more questions and ideas that can be stimulating… or can be shit.
32. Banal ideas cannot be rescued by beautiful execution.
• I can’t count how many times this has been relevant in my own work. No matter how skillfully or patiently executed (almost always the same thing), if the idea is not there or being worked through simultaneously the work always finishes mediocre at best. As artists we know how successful something is deep down. I think it’s important for the idea to be resolved in order to be comfortable with a work.
Those I Find Most Irrelevant:
6. If the artist changes his mind midway through the execution of the piece he compromises the result and repeats past results.
• I agree that the artist will compromise the result of his or her original idea and may repeat old results, but I don’t think this is ultimately negative. It seems like LeWitt is trying to say that those who change their mind midstream are not fully thinking through the work and will never learn from their mistakes. If an artist decides that the completion of the original idea is not as interesting as originally thought or financially impossible… does it make sense to finish the work using the same assumptions? And does the artist throw the idea away completely then? These are especially important questions when considering the first part of #11 of LeWitt’s sentences which states: Ideas do not necessarily proceed in logical order. They may set one off in unexpected directions…
11. Ideas do not necessarily proceed in logical order. They may set one off in unexpected directions, but an idea must necessarily be completed in the mind before the next one is formed.
• I really like the first part of the sentence explaining the uncontrollable nature of ideas. And I do think that it is important to complete ideas and if time allowed all, but in reality many thoughts are left unfinished and can be very interesting in art. We can perceive unfinished ideas as an attempt to interact with the viewers or participants of art.
17. All ideas are art if they are concerned with art and fall within the conventions of art.
• I like the idea of defining art because I like rational explanations… although this may be a little too encompassing (especially if you consider #33: These sentences comment on art, but are not art). This blog entry definitely falls in the conversation of art… does that make it art? Maybe. Maybe not. Can’t be so definitive with this one…
19. The conventions of art are altered by works of art.
• Where I find this to be very true in general there are a number of exceptions, one example being these sentences and many other text written about the concepts of art. These texts are in reflection of works already made but are themselves often times creating new ideas.
33. These sentences comment on art, but are not art.
• If all ideas are art if they are concerned with art and fall within the conversations of art then why are these sentences not considered art? Again… maybe they are.
