Conceptual Art: A Critical Anthology - uncopy

It is within these premises that most idea art (including “street works”) functions. How-
ever, there is still another, more specific category—pure or radical conceptual art—which uses
as its exclusive medium the written language. Since one of its main objectives is to investigate
and redefine the concept “art,”a great deal of this writing verges upon art theory and philosophy.
Most (if not all) conceptual artists started working in a visual medium, but have eliminated
every trace of visual element from their present art. Yet, their work still belongs to the
world of form, because it consists of structuring artistic thought and creating thought structures.
As Sol LeWitt, one of the progenitors of conceptual art, puts it: “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.” 1 And in the words of Ian Burn, a younger member of
the movement: “Artists are exploring language to create access to ways of seeing.” 2
In the last years, there have been a number of exhibitions which include primarily written
material and photographs. Although this situation still feeds the gallery-collector system
and satisfies the need of the artists to exhibit their works, it seems to be a highly artificial
situation. The interested spectator is not given the best chance to absorb new complex thoughts
by standing in front of a wall covered with endless typed or hand-scribbled pages; and the space
of art museums and galleries is wasted when filled with documents. Such material belongs to
publications and libraries—although it should be presented and initiated by museums and
dealers. The attitude of the pioneering art dealer Seth Siegelaub3 seems to be the most appropriate
one: exhibitions of idea art can consist only of their catalogues. Art in the Mind follows
this example. Its primary intention is to include works which are not suitable for a traditional
museum (although some of them are exhibitable), and to offer a panorama of such art in its
various aspects. (. . .)
NOTES
1. Sol LeWitt, “Sentences on Conceptual Art,” Art-Language, no. 1 (May 1969), p. 12.
2. Ian Burn, “Dialogue,” in the July 1969 mimeographed publication of Art Press (New York),
p. 5.
3. I am grateful to both Seth Siegelaub and Lucy Lippard for their willingness to give me information
on younger artists for this exhibition.
This text was written as the introduction to the exhibition “Art in the Mind,” staged at Oberlin
College, Oberlin, Ohio (17 April–12 May 1970).
athena tacha spear introduction to art in the mind 211