Conceptual art emerged in the mid-1960s and early 1970s as a reaction against formalism. It emphasized ideas and concepts over the creation of traditional art objects. Conceptual artists used various media like installations, performances, films and photographs to convey concepts and push the boundaries of what constituted art. Some key ideas were that art is essentially conceptual, minimal in form, and aims to dematerialize the art object. Artists like Joseph Kosuth, Tracy Emin, and Damien Hirst used unconventional materials and forms of presentation to challenge viewers' perceptions of art.

1. Conceptual Art
mid 1960’s and the early 1970’s

2. What is it?
• Art that is intended to convey an idea or concept
to the perceiver and does not involve the
creation or appreciation of a traditional art object
such as painting or sculpture.
 The idea behind the work is more important than the final work
 Uses images and objects to make the viewer think, and to think
particularly about what art is and what it means
 Rejected the idea of “art should be pretty”
 Rejects conventional painting and sculpture

3. What led up to this movement,
what influenced this movement?

5. It was a reaction against
formalism/Traditional art
• Formalism: the way object are made and their purely visual
aspects. The context for the work, including the reason for its
creation, the historical background, and the life of the artist, is
considered to be of secondary importance.

6. Framework of conceptual art?
•
•
•
•
Installation art
Performance art
Conceptual film
Conceptual photography
Key ideas
•
•
•
•
Art is essentially conceptual
Minimal
Dematerialization
“institutional critique”: Gallery/museum/the audience completes
the work
• Self conscious: like Duchamp and other modernists they created art
that is about art and pushed its limits by using minimal materials
and even text.

7. Tracy Emin
My bed, 1998
The bed was presented in the
state that Emin claimed it had
been when she said she had
not got up from it for several
years due to to suicidal
depression brought on by
relationship difficulties.

8. Damien Hirst
-Anaesthetics, 1991
Glass, silicone, acrylic, polystyrene, and formal
dehyde solution

9. Kosuth didn’t make the chair, take the photograph, or
write the definition; he selected and assembled them
together. But is this art? And which representation of
the chair is most “accurate”? These open-ended
questions are exactly what Kosuth wanted us to think
about when he said that “art is making meaning”. By
assembling these three alternative representations,
Kosuth turns a simple wooden chair into an object of
debate and even consternation, a platform for exploring
new meanings.
Joseph Kosuth
One and three chairs
Joseph Kosuth represents
one chair three ways: as a
manufactured chair, as a
photograph, and as a copy
of a dictionary entry for the
word “chair”. The
installation is thus
composed of an object, an
image, and words.

11. Bibliography
"A Careful Reading Between the Lines Is Required." Nytimes. N.p., n.d. Web.
art-design/2009/07/art-beat-the-10-damien-hirst-works-you-should-know>.
"Conceptual Art." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Sept. 2013. Web. 08 Oct. 2013.
"Damien Hirst." Anaesthetics (and the Way They Affect the Mind and Body) -. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2013.
"INTIMATE WITH TRACEY EMIN - MY BED, 2012." YouTube. YouTube, 28 Nov. 2012. Web. 08 Oct. 2013.
"Joseph Kosuth." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Sept. 2013. Web. 08 Oct. 2013.
"Making Sense of Marcel Duchamp." Making Sense of Marcel Duchamp. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2013.
"MoMA Learning." MoMA. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2013.
N.p., n.d. Web.
"The Treachery of Images." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Mar. 2013. Web. 09 Oct. 2013.
ô "Conceptual-art." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2013.
ô "Damien HirstPharmacy 1992." 'Pharmacy', Damien Hirst. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. <http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/hirstpharmacy-t07187/text-summary>.
ô "Tracey Emin." - Artist's Profile. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. <http://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/tracey_emin.htm>.
tracey-emin-my-bed-c-1999.html>.
ô "The Art Daily with Lydia." : Tracey Emin, My Bed (c. 1999). N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. <http://theartdaily.blogspot.com/2010/04/
<http://www.theartstory.org/movement-conceptual-art.htm>.