Do I hear $12 million? I do? Oct 19, 2008
Conceptual artists such as Hirst, Jeff Koons (creator of the life-size ceramic "Michael Jackson and Bubbles," portraying the eccentric pop star with his pet chimp), and, to a lesser extent, Hirst's fellow young British artist Tracey Emin ("My Bed") make up the bulk of the author's anecdotal evidence. Defying his own criteria, he returns repeatedly to case histories involving definitive works by Warhol and the grotesque figurative painter Francis Bacon, who began working in the 1920s. (Boston Globe)
Palin's palintology promise Oct 6, 2008
" Instead, she said, oil was "the tears of the pioneer children as they walked barefoot across the Great Plain, persecuted all the way to Oregon by hostile Apaches, Jews, Negroes, homosexuals, Muslims, theatre people, conceptual artists and Satanists, 2000 years ago". "As long as American children are weeping for the betrayed dreams of the Founding Fathers, there will be oil," said Palin. However, she said, the central thrust of Palintology would be to understand why God decided to hide dinosaur... (iAfrica.com)
The week ahead Sep 15, 2008
DAMIEN HIRST, a leading light among Britain s conceptual artists, is set to find out how much his fans still love him. Bypassing the art dealers and galleries that usually take a handsome cut, Mr Hirst is putting up for sale a large collection of new work at Sotheby s auction house in London starting on Monday September 15th. (The Economist)
How outsiders get a raw deal Sep 6, 2008
In the 1970s, conceptual artists went to extraordinary lengths to avoid making objects that could be co-opted by the art market. Nowadays the game is to make a piece of glittering kitsch or a contemptuous daub and charge the highest possible price. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
An Odd Group Aug 31, 2008
He studied at Cooper Union with Hans Haacke, one of the biggest conceptual artists in the world. But for him, working with the commercial mainstream was the most punk-rock thing he could do. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Entertainment)
Painting by numbers Jul 2, 2008
Perhaps the best examples of this are the paintings created by Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid, two Russian conceptual artists who emigrated to the US in the late 1970s. In 1994, they collaborated on USA's Most Wanted, a painting created in response to a survey of 1,001 Americans that asked people what they considered to be good art. (Guardian Unlimited -- Arts)
A gigantic doll house Jun 17, 2008
" But she says that she felt that the result is "a bravura statement of all they have done" and worthy of being in an art gallery. The intriguing exhibition poses the question of whether Viktor & Rolf are designers or conceptual artists who work their surreal ideas in fashion. The clothes themselves are classic, but are used to make striking fashion statements, as when a collection was bathed in metallic silver; or when the word "No" was sculpted in fabric to reject "fast" fashion. Horsting and... (International Herald Tribune)
More of this story May 2, 2008
While their work may not have had a direct influence on his, McKenzie said the way those conceptual artists worked certainly has. Dave McKenzie was at REDCAT last Wednesday night for a reception for his exhibit, Screen Doors on Submarines, which continues through June 15. (Los Angeles Downtown News, CA)
Allston Skirt to close its doors after nine years Apr 2, 2008
They've done that and more; this year, two of their artists have been nominated for the Institute of Contemporary Arts' Foster Prize: conceptual artists Joe Zane and Andrew Witkin. Neither Hopkins nor Kantrowitz knows what she'll do next, but both say they intend to keep working with artists. (Boston Globe)
Britart founder Angus Fairhurst found hanged Apr 1, 2008
Fairhurst was a founding member of the Young British Artists, a group of conceptual artists, painters and sculptors who emerged from shows at the Saatchi Gallery from 1992. The group, now mostly in their 40s, included Hirst, Sarah Lucas and Tracey Emin. (Telegraph.co.uk)
Home is where the art is Mar 16, 2008
Like many conceptual artists of their generation, they appear to be fascinated by the theories of French philosopher Michel Foucault, known for his critiques of social institutions, including prison panopticons (cells radiating from a central tower from which inmates can be secretly observed at all times). In the gallery are photos in crisp white frames of 3D architectural plans of places like Pentonville prison and St Bartholomew's Hospital. (Guardian Unlimited)
Hreinn Fridfinnsson Feb 18, 2008
His art is celebrated for its lyricism and stark poetry that transcends the often commonplace subject matter and materials he uses. He often presents found objects with which he interferes as little as possible, creating new works that investigate ideas of the self and of time. (AbsoluteArts.com)
Read Indepth Article Feb 18, 2008
Hreinn Fridfinnsson is one of Icelands leading conceptual artists. His art is celebrated for its lyricism and stark poetry that transcends the often commonplace subject matter and materials he uses. (AbsoluteArts.com)
Where Did All Those Gorgeous Russians Come From? Jan 31, 2008
Nowadays, stars in fields previously unsanctioned by the partycrime novelists, conceptual artists, computer whizzesfrom Russia, Hungary, or Uzbekistan have a shot at fame and fortune, too. As for talented entrepreneurs, the sky's the limit. (Slate)
Jim Dine, Tony Labat and Ruth Eckland: wrecks, lies and videotape Dec 16, 2007
Among American conceptual artists, perhaps only Vito Acconci, Dennis Oppenheim and Chris Burden have also put their bodies on the line to this extent. Labat's recent work at Paule Anglim implies no personally life-threatening commitments, but it references various extreme states: paranoia, war, poverty, religious hallucination and caffeine rush. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Painting gets a broader brush in L.A. Dec 4, 2007
"Ideas about painting," which is one strategy the inspiring first generation of Conceptual artists employed to shake-up the status quo, superseded painting itself. But the ideas were getting monotonous by the time the second- and third-generation Conceptualists came around. (Los Angeles Times)
Slideshow: Hezbollah's Museum of Hate Aug 20, 2007
The free exhibition commemorates the group's "divine victory" over Israel last summer by offering up a professional and slickly curated collection of war paraphernalia--the work of over two dozen conceptual artists, graphic designers, engineers, musicians, and lighting technicians. Since opening last month, it has become this summer's hottest tourist destination, attracting, mostly by word of mouth, over 200,000 visitors. (New Republic)
You're having a laugh - if only I was too Jul 15, 2007
This was 'a group show' at the old Opera House featuring performance by a gaggle of the world's headline conceptual artists, from the Scottish video maverick Douglas Gordon to Tate Modern's artificial sun king Olafur Eliasson. The artists are mates mostly, 15 of them, and the idea was a kind of cabaret, or to give it its full conceptual due: 'What if an exhibition was not about occupying space but about occupying time. (The Observer)
Tony Blair appears at the Royal Academy of Art - in the nude Jun 5, 2007
This year sees the space taken over by three eight-metre steel dinosaurs, created by English conceptual artists Jake and Dinos Chapman. Their installation, entitled The Meek Shall Inherit The Earth But Not The Mineral Rights, can be seen until 19 August, 2007, when the exhibition draws to a close. (BBC News -- Entertainment)
When I see an elephant...paint? Jun 2, 2007
It started off as somewhat of a joke -- in 1997, elephant expert teamed up with conceptual artists to start an elephant art academy. They would teach retired elephants to paint -- something that others had tried with success in the past -- and the resulting artwork would raise money and awareness of the plight of Asian elephants, whose numbers are declining at an alarming rate. (The Scientist)
Sydney has cause to reflect on LeWitt Apr 25, 2007
Like Sleeping Beauty, he then encircled his glass coffin with a scratchy thorn belt of aphorisms, justifying the lot by murmuring that "conceptual artists are mystics rather than rationalists. They lead to conclusions that logic cannot reach.". It was a stance much favoured by the great men of modernism. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Remembering Sol LeWitt Apr 13, 2007
APPRECIATION / Sol LeWitt's breakthrough works set standards for conceptual art. I'm afraid I'm a dead end. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Entertainment)
APPRECIATION Apr 13, 2007
I'm afraid I'm a dead end. " LeWitt's name registers with the Bay Area public because in 2000 the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art staged a retrospective of his work that traveled later to New York and Chicago. Bright remnants of that event still adorn the walls that overlook the museum's lobby atrium: "Wall Drawing #935: Color bands in four directions" and "Wall Drawing #936: Color arcs in four directions. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Sol LeWitt, 78, sculptor and muralist Apr 10, 2007
His first two sentences on Conceptual art contend, "Conceptual artists are mystics rather than rationalists. They leap to conclusions that logic cannot reach.". The objective clarity of rational thought in LeWitt's modular sculptures and systematic wall drawings arose in opposition to two primary developments, one artistic and the other social. (Los Angeles Times)
‘Joseph’ promises to dazzle audience Feb 10, 2007
Each of this admired and respected team of conceptual artists and musicians is well known for extravagant costuming, production numbers with large casts and capturing and holding the attention of theater-goers. Pop, rock and country musical styles make for a varied and balanced backdrop for the performance. (Texarkana Gazette, TX)
