Conceptual Art

What if the idea behind art was more important than the art itself? That is what Conceptual artists believe. This movement started in the 1960s. Sometimes the artwork is just words on a wall. Sometimes it is a set of instructions. The art does not have to be pretty or even made by the artist's hands. The thought is what counts. This was a very new and surprising idea.

Ideas as Art

Sol LeWitt was a famous Conceptual artist. He wrote instructions for wall drawings, and other people followed the instructions to make them. Joseph Kosuth displayed a real chair, a photo of the chair, and a dictionary definition of the word chair all together. He asked which one was the real chair. Yoko Ono wrote a book of instructions telling people to imagine things, like painting in your head.

Changing What Art Means

Conceptual art made people think about what art really is. Does art have to be something you can touch? Does the artist have to make it with their own hands? Can words be art? These questions changed the art world. Today, many modern artists mix Conceptual ideas with other styles. Art can now be almost anything, from a video to a pile of candy to a performance, thanks in part to this movement.

Fun Facts

• Sol LeWitt wrote instructions for wall drawings, and anyone who follows the steps can create one.
• One famous Conceptual artwork by Felix Gonzalez-Torres is just a pile of wrapped candies in the corner of a room.
• Joseph Kosuth's artwork One and Three Chairs asks you to think about what makes something real.

Did You Know?

Conceptual artist Lawrence Weiner said his art could exist just as words on a page and never needed to be built at all!