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can be measured. The intervals and measurements can be important to a work of art. If certain distances are important they will be made obvious in the piece. If space is relatively unimportant it can be regularized and made equal (things placed equal distances apart), to mitigate any interest in interval. Regular space might also become a metric time element, a kind of regular beat or pulse. When the interval is kept regular whatever is irregular gains more importance. Architecture and three-dimensional art are of completely opposite natures. The former is concerned with making an area with a specific function. Architecture, whether it is a work of art or not, must be utilitarian or else fail completely. Art is not utilitarian. When threedimensional art starts to take on some of the characteristics of architecture such as forming utilitarian areas it weakens its function as art. When the viewer is dwarfed by the large size of a piece this domination emphasizes the physical and emotive power of the form at the expense of losing the idea of the piece. New materials are one of the great afflictions of contemporary art. Some artists confuse new materials with new ideas. There is nothing worse than seeing art that wallows in gaudy baubles. By and large most artists who are attracted to these materials are the ones that lack the stringency of mind that would enable them to use the materials well. It takes a good artist to use new materials and make them into a work of art. The danger is, I think, in making the physicality of the material so important that it becomes the idea of the work (another kind of expressionism). Three-dimensional art of any kind is a physical fact. This physicality is its most obvious and expressive content. Conceptual art is made to engage the mind of the viewer rather than his eye or emotions. The physicality of a three-dimensional object then becomes a contradiction to its non-emotive intent. Color, surface, texture, and shape only emphasize the physical aspects of the work. Anything that calls attention to and interests the viewer in this physicality is a deterrent to our understanding of the idea and is used as an expressive device. The conceptual artist would want to ameliorate this emphasis on materiality as much as possible or to use it in a paradoxical way. (To convert it into an idea.) This kind of art, then, should be stated with the most economy of means. Any idea that is better stated in two dimensions should not be in three dimensions. Ideas may also be stated with numbers, photographs, or words or any way the artist chooses, the form being unimportant. These paragraphs are not intended as categorical imperatives but the ideas stated are as close as possible to my thinking at this time. 3 These ideas are the result of my work as an artist and are subject to change as my experience changes. I have tried to state them with as much clarity as possible. If the statements I made are unclear it may mean the thinking is unclear. sol lewitt paragraphs on conceptual art 15
16 Even while writing these ideas there seemed to be obvious inconsistencies (which I have tried to correct, but others will probably slip by). I do not advocate a conceptual form of art for all artists. I have found that it has worked well for me while other ways have not. It is one way of making art; other ways suit other artists. Nor do I think all conceptual art merits the viewer’s attention. Conceptual art is only good when the idea is good. NOTES 1. In other forms of art the concept may be changed in the process of execution. 2. Some ideas are logical in conception and illogical perceptually. 3. I dislike the term “work of art” because I am not in favor of work and the term sounds pretentious. But I don’t know what other term to use. This text first appeared in Artforum, 5:10 (Summer 1967), pp. 79–84.
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Conceptual Art: A Critical Antholog
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conceptual art: a critical antholog
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contents ILLUSTRATIONS xii PREFACE
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Rolf Wedewer, Introduction to Konze
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Adrian Piper, On Conceptual Art 424
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16. General Idea, Orgasm Energy Cha
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have chosen to include are not mean
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elements of the artwork as equal co
Page 20 and 21: guistic act of asserting their “a
Page 22 and 23: model of conceptualism posits an un
Page 24 and 25: ody else fabricating or describing
Page 26 and 27: an isolated circuit, these works cl
Page 28 and 29: communication, integrating the work
Page 30 and 31: always already constructed. In othe
Page 32 and 33: Atkinson refers to it, compiled in
Page 34 and 35: the things only on a verbal informa
Page 36 and 37: escape it. The museum can assess in
Page 38 and 39: ognition: Representation, Power, Cu
Page 40 and 41: and, thereby, of society as a whole
Page 42 and 43: In the late sixties and early seven
Page 44 and 45: and from the language of painterly
Page 46 and 47: transformation”—had been underm
Page 48 and 49: out, conceptual art had little of t
Page 50 and 51: 12. Gregory Battcock, “Painting I
Page 52 and 53: in the Labour Movement,” Dialogue
Page 55 and 56: eduardo costa, raúl escari, robert
Page 57 and 58: a media art (manifesto) eduardo cos
Page 59 and 60: 4 This text was written in Buenos A
Page 61: compositions for audio structures c
Page 64 and 65: the attributed signifiers are unant
Page 66 and 67: 2 Mel Bochner and Robert Smithson,
Page 68 and 69: Conceptual art is not necessarily l
Page 73 and 74: excerpt from placement as language
Page 75: 3 Brian O’Doherty, Scenario for B
Page 78 and 79: 1 — The derivation of the terms o
Page 80 and 81: subtracting each number in turn fro
Page 82 and 83: the visual evidence that they do me
Page 85 and 86: uren, mosset, toroni or anybody mic
Page 87 and 88: emarks on air-conditioning: an extr
Page 89: 34 NOTES 1. “Other maps are such
Page 92 and 93: “reductive” art—simply corrob
Page 95 and 96: general scheme of the new objectivi
Page 97: 42 large-scale, not for an elite re
Page 100 and 101: II 1968
Page 102 and 103: an “empty” work, or one with a
Page 104 and 105: ultra-conceptual. When works of art
Page 107 and 108: concerningthe article “the demate
Page 109 and 110: 54 can never be created or destroye
Page 111 and 112: 56 rather, questions of true or fal
Page 113 and 114: 58 and myself worked particularly c
Page 115 and 116: statement yvonne rainer The choices
Page 117 and 118: statement to lucy lippard hanne dar
Page 119: 7 John Baldessari, Everything Is Pu
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gallery or museum signified “this
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function. It may happen that the ob
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G. B.: At this stage, art would bec
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ual. It forces him to have the same
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8 Martha Rosler, Bringing the War H
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The recognition of this new concept
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The artists worked in collaboration
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III 1969
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etween the artist and his public re
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In October 1967 at the Fifth Paris
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fact eliminated the artist’s “e
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or listening to gurgling or popping
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art workers’ coalition open heari
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94 take pictures of each other just
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introduction editors of art-languag
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100 and the U.S.A. does not, if the
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102 The question of “recognition
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104 in various ways stressed the ro
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10 — Ideas alone can be works of
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11 General Idea, The Garb Age Colle
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1 — Language suggests, through th
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note: start write up of piece when
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“element” missing from this dia
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Aug 8, 69 Kent Cunow. Told a great
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only one who’s not staying in N.Y
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“maintenance art manifesto: propo
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124 II. THE MAINTENANCE ART EXHIBIT
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patron’s statement for “when at
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politics and the avant-garde piero
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130 brought into being a climate of
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132 Emilio Prini states: “creativ
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134 obstacles continue to call for
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art tamed and wild jean clay May 19
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138 In a period of gigantic ephemer
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140 There has been a noticeable inc
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jects waiting to be turned into an
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We can distinguish [four] different
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The points to be examined are descr
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art that one might think that inner
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which concerns us is therefore fund
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the effacement involved is of inter
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would have us believe that what tak
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White and blue vertical stripes wer
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Traditional philosophy, almost by d
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The one thing to say about art is t
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But in the philosophic tabula rasa
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qualities seen in a specific painti
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But an empirical proposition, or a
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eration of it as an art work is nec
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the idea ofinventing. It is nothing
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Lawrence Weiner, who gave up painti
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pop paintings of John Baldessari al
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23. Ad Reinhardt:Paintings, p. 12.
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The experiences and motivations of
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Photography is a product of the non
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task of discovering underlying orde
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But the artist has that same obsess
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IV 1970
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as any kind of art; it can’t clai
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excerpts from speculation (1967-197
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194 (One dividend of such an approa
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196 In the context of visual art wh
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on exhibitions and the world at lar
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200 is common property, the same wa
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202 to other artists (3) access to
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notes towards art work charles harr
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206 objects, or to pretend that cer
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208 remarkable to pick up the ball
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introduction to art in the mind ath
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introduction to information kynasto
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214 artists use the mail, telegrams
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alice’s head: reflections on conc
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218 reproduce some recent objects w
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de-aestheticization harold rosenber
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222 taken place are, one earthworks
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contemporary colonial art luis camn
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226 The achievements of the Metropo
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228 class, thus consuming those tra
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230 the movement’s pure political
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Style, whether of the hands or of t
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V 1971-1974
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M.C.: Academicism and repetition ap
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19 Allan Sekula, Meat Theft/Disposa
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university departments. It is one s
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Such things go beyond established h
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ules of thumb victor burgin . . . a
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250 are required to recognize unequ
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252 Ifwe imagine, by way ofanalogy,
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254 conceive ofa “semantic thresh
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20 Adrian Piper, page from Foodfor
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tions.” Each of the arts is, in f
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natural. Roughly, where Pinacotheca
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considering more than just one prec
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whether we do or do not want a majo
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the trouble with art-as-idea max ko
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270 For though he may be very const
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272 For our commerce with art may g
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274 effective way for the artist to
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276 to be an affair exclusively of
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22 Fred Lonidier, 29 Arrests, 1972,
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in the physical world, and not end
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production for production’s sake
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l’art conceptuel michel claura an
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288 1 — The work can be reproduce
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290 THE POLITICS OF CONCEPTUAL ART
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postface, in six years: the demater
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24 Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Washing,
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thing, or talk; or find ourselves b
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are hit by the social and political
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from taxes and partial funding of t
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sarah charlesworth, ian burn, josep
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a declaration of dependence sarah c
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310 regarding patterns of legitimat
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312 might be centered around my inv
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314 naive preoccupation, a romantic
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316 medium, a methodology, and not
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25 Mary Kelly, Daily Schedules (1 o
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Given this, shouldn’t we be scrut
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But this sort of manipulative marke
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familiar with how “high art” ha
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ernism, but also most issues of Art
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Finally, we must not forget to emph
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function more efficiently? I find i
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7. For discussion of this era, see
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With the door to politics closed by
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curating it at the MOMA; Greenberge
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e described as a formalism of anoth
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of mouth circulation, until the mom
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The historically evolving unconscio
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historical way. It is impossible to
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3. I count curators, dealers, and h
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26 Fred Lonidier, The Health and Sa
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sentimental about (American) histor
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a concept of history as involving c
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Don’t think that artists are some
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to be bien pensant ...ornottobe.tob
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documentary and corporate violence
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362 Looking backward, at the art-wo
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364 disease, hospitalization, and e
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to argue for a video of representat
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368 make explicit the connections b
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notes on reading the post-partum do
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372 THE DISCOURSE OF WOMEN’S PRAC
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374 ognitions.” See Jacques Lacan
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moments of history in the work of d
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378 the miserableness of everyday i
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380 The component units possessed n
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382 in later notes on Schema: “Bu
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384 (1969), goes further than the p
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386 EPILOGUE OF THE IDEA OF USE VAL
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388 14. Dan Graham in a letter to t
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VII memoirs of conceptual art
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It is well accepted that capitalism
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a supervisory role. While the execu
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industries of art history departmen
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sion was “voiceless,” incapable
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outside of the expected precincts o
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emphasis on material aspects (uniqu
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But each of the above attitudes con
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9. To give one instance, consider t
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statements cildo meireles I remembe
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412 work with an object, because th
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wall language becomes an object to
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A nonvisual abstraction such as “
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with the art that these “proto-Mi
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In addition, Duchamp saw the proble
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on conceptual art adrian piper I tu
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statement robert barry If there was
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In the early 1970s, in response to
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working with shadows, working with
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434 They were l’air du temps you
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436 careful not to withdraw the obj
Page 493 and 494:
438 it was possible to do a show in
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440 S.S.: I think all art movements
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we aimed to be amateurs art & langu
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444 as to how this amateur might fi
Page 501 and 502:
446 To be sure, these Indexes did n
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448 The facts of who did what, how
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was to work on the concept of art,
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M.K.: For me, the impossible object
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cerns around 1980. Sometimes it see
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M.K.: But her work amounts to much
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intention(s) joseph kosuth INTENTIO
Page 517 and 518:
462 the distance between the art hi
Page 519 and 520:
464 the question remains, does the
Page 521 and 522:
466 objects. Just as the grunts and
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468 7. Rosalind Krauss, “We Lost
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such an assessment. According to An
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(create) the conditions . . . we ha
Page 530 and 531:
Try and imagine Rockefeller and his
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DOCUMENT VI, 1975 The Anti-Imperial
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6 — What is,who constitutes the
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lated mainly by Corris, Heller and
Page 538 and 539:
Corris, Heller and Menard re-groupe
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NOTES 1. See my “The artist out o
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to Duchamp. It brought me an infusi
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from its inception for New York art
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“dada—situationism/tupamaros—
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494 the ownership imperative and d)
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496 following (Marta Traba for exam
Page 553 and 554:
498 were the economic circumstances
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500 ism was a matter of coincidence
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VIII critical histories of conceptu
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to build a critical memorial to tha
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ately around this dynamic, display
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endeavored above all to come to ter
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post-1945 American art is symptomat
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it managed in the process to drive
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on the study of visual objects—ca
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to be given primacy over the visual
Page 574 and 575:
some of the crucial foundations for
Page 576 and 577:
systematically as the representatio
Page 578 and 579:
virtue of the artist declaring the
Page 580 and 581:
early work of Robert Barry (such as
Page 582 and 583:
Wall of Plaster or Wallboard from a
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acts of petit-bourgeois anarchist r
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Mallarmé—in which the first Engl
Page 588 and 589:
experience. In that process it succ
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to the thing at all. There is a cer
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15. Michel Claura, at the time the
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The avant-garde of the late 1960s a
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Modernism. The first assumption is
Page 598 and 599:
Such rewritings are understandable
Page 600 and 601:
the early work of Art & Language an
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political subject matter—was demo
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modernism by restoring distanced se
Page 606 and 607:
For Marchán Fiz, the distinguishin
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ment of New York would play a pivot
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analysis of the self-reflexive or s
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vesting reality with meaning. The r
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5. A glance at the catalogues that
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15. The constitutional government o
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unwritten histories of conceptual a
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566 of visuality” or “suppressi
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568 In Jeff Wall’s view, that iso
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