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Who's Afraid of Conceptual Art? Documentary Notes

Conceptualism and Minimalism

Pop Art

Claes Oldenburg

Claes Oldenburg is a Swedish born American sculptor, best know for his public art installations which typically feature everyday objects. He was born on 28th January 1929 in Stockholm, although he grew up living in Chicago. From 1946-1950 Oldenburg studied Literature and art history at the University of Yale before returning to Chicago where he undertook classes at the School of Art Institute of Chicago.

In 1965 he moved to New York where he became interested in street life. He was fascinated by store windows, graffiti, advertisements and trash. His interest in these things, shifted his work from paintings to sculpture. In 1962 he began to make a series of 'happenings' where he would make giant objects made from cloth which had been stuffed with rags or paper. Oldenburg began translating the medium of sculpture from hard to soft, creating deflated looking objects which were subject to gravity and chance.

Oldenburgs best known work is his soft sculptures which are often of objects with close human associations such as typewriters, bathtubs and fans. "Soft Toilet" is a soft sculpture of a toilet which Oldenburg created in 1966. The toilet is made from vinyl and looks very limp, like an ageing body. It creates a sense of drama, changing the ideal image of a rigid modern porcelain toilet into a droopy hand sewn object.

Jackson Pollock and Callen Schaub

Expressionism and Abstract Expressionism

Surrealism and Dada

Tony Cragg

Sir Anthony Douglas Cragg is a British sculptor born on the 9th April 1949 in Liverpool. He is currently living and working in Germany. He studied art at Gloucestershire College of art, before studying painting at Wimbledon School of Art. In 1973 he went to the Royal College of Art to study Sculpture. Cragg won the Turner prize in 1988 and in 2002 he was made CBE for his services to art.

"Britain seen from the North" was created in 1981. It was made from scrap materials in various colours and forms the outline of Great Britain. The island has been rotated sideways which speaks to the political difficulties at the time such as 'Thatcherism' which particularly effected Northern Britain. The figure on the left is a portrait of the artist himself as he views Britain as an outsider, due to him living in Germany.

Modernism

Olafur Eliasson

Olafur Eliasson is a Danish-Icelandic artist who is well known for his sculptures and large scale installation work. In many of his works he uses elemental materials such as light, water and air temperature to enhance the viewers experience. He studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and was then awarded a travel budget which he used to fly to New York and work as an assistant to artist Christian Eckart.

Algae Window is an artwork made up of different sized glass spheres in the form of an algae called diatoms, which remove large amounts of carbon from the air. Each sphere holds an inverted image of the scene in the window behind the piece. The installation overall creates a strong contrast between light and dark. The glass spheres appear very light and stand out from the pitch black surroundings creating a very dramatic image instantly grabbing your attention.

James Turrell

James Turrell is an American artist born on May 6th 1943. He is well known for is artworks in the light and space movement. He received a BA degree from Pomona College in perceptual psychology. He had also studied mathematics, geology and astromony. A year later, he enrolled in the graduate studio art programme at the University of California where he began making works using light projections.

Turrells installation "The Light Inside" was commissioned for the MFAH and is a tunnel linking the museums Caroline Wiess Law Building and the Audrey Jones Beck Building. The light inside acts as both a passage and a destination. Visitors feel a sense of floating in space as they pass through the raised walkway. The illuminating lights also change between colours blue, magenta and crimson. The installation very much explores both light and space.

Donald Judd

Donald Judd was an American artist whose work was very much associated with minimalism. He was born on June 3rd 1928 and died on February 12th 1994. From 1946-1947 he served in the army as an engineer before starting his education at college of William and Mary. He then attended Colombia University of General Studies and earned a bachelor degree in philosophy. Afterwards he worked towards a masters degree in Art History.

Judd liked to call box-like forms, like this one, "specific objects". They would sit directly on the floor and would at first glance appear simple with sharp edges and flat colours. However they are more complex when exploring the colour and surface. This artwork in particular has an exterior made from copper and an interior made from a vibrant red enamel. The copper mirrors its environment (the wooden floor) and the colour of the enamel strongly contrasts against this demanding attention.

Bill Woodrow

Bill Woodrow is a British Sculptor born on 1st November 1948. He studied at Winchester College of Art, St Martins College of Art and Design and the Chelsea School of Art. Woodrow was one of the few British Sculptors who started to emerge on the Contemporary art scene in the 1970s. His early works consistented mainly of raw materials and materials which he found in dumpster and scrapyards.

Sitting on history is a sculpture made in bronze. It features a book tied to a ball and chain. The idea of this piece is to show that we often become trapped within the knowledge given to us rather than seeing it in our own light and understanding it for ourselves. The over-exaggerated connecter which connects the book to the ball and chain wants to emphasise how important this issue is. There is contrast in colour between the ball and book. The pages of the book are much lighter and are also much more detailed compared to the ball.

Richard Deacon

Richard Deacon CBE is a British sculptor born on 15th August 1949. He went to Plymouth College before going on to study at Somerset College of Art, St Martins School of Art and then the Royal College of Art. Deacons artwork is abstract and uses everyday materials. In 1987, he won the Turner prize and was nominated for his show 'For those who have eyes'.

After is a large floor standing sculpture made up wooden strips creating a hollow tube. After has a sense of movement due to the free flowing curves although it can also appear to look quite rigid as its made from wood. The sculpture plays around with space as it has a hollow interior which can be seen but also an exterior which you can see from the outside. I think that 'After' can look quite nurturing as it reminds me of nature, waves and woven baskets however I also think it can look quite striking due to how large it is but also because the sharper twists and bends.

Tom Sachs

Tom Sachs is an American contemporary artist who lives nd works in New York. He was born on July 26th 1966. He went to Bennington college in Vermont and after graduation, he went on to study architecture at Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. It wasn't until the late 1990s that his career in Sculpture began to take off.

The Chanel Guillotine was made from wood, acrylic paint and fishing wire. This guillotine easily grabs ones attention due to its large size and reminds you of a past time, however its clear that its referencing modern times due to the 'Chanel' logo which is featured a few times over the piece. The Chanel Guillotine makes you think about why consumers are trapped into buying brand named products. It makes it seem that big brand names can be deadly and that as consumers we are falling into their trap.

Buckminster Fuller

Richard Buckminster Fuller was an American architect and designer. He was born in Massachusetts on the 12th July 1895 and died on July 1st 1983. He attended Milton Academy before then going onto studying at Harvard College. Fuller started work as a mechanic before serving in the US Navy during WW1. His daughter passed away in 1922 and this left Fuller suffering from anxiety and depression.

Montreal Biosphere was designed by Buckminster Fuller. Fuller went on to design many geodesic domes, one of the most famous being Montreal Biosphere. The dome itself is built from individual triangular components which mathematically work together to create the structure. Buckminster Fuller wanted to show that it was possibly to create an entire living space using only 1 50th of the materials which would normally be used. The structure looks quite striking due to its size. It also looks quite isolating as it separates whats inside the dome from the outside world.

Impressionism and Post Impression

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