A Curatorial Concept: My Dream Conceptual Art Exhibit

Dan Flavin, "Green"

Sherrlie Levine, "Fountain (after Marcel Duchamp: A.P.)"

Gordon Matta-Clark, "Splitting"

Cy Twombly, "Untitled"

Sol Lewitt, "Wall Drawing"

On Karawa, "June 16, 1966"

Bernd and Hilla Becher "Water Towers"

Hans Haacke, "MOMA poll"

Robert Smithson, "Non-Site: Line of Wreckage, Bayonne, New Jersey"

Martha Rosler, "The Bowery in Two Inadequate Descriptive Systems"

Joesph Kosuth, "Chair"

Chris Burden, "Shoot"

Forgive me for this additional Greenberg quote. The first week of the quarter is Greenberg week in Darby English's class.

“The question now asked through their art is no longer what constitutes art, or the art of painting as such, but what irreducibly constitutes good art as such. Or rather, what is the ultimate source of value or quality in art? And the worked-out answer appears to be: not skill, training, or anything else having to do with execution or performance, but conception alone.” --Clement Greenberg, "After Abstract Expressionism" 1962

I have conceptual art on the brain, as I am considering writing about it for this class' seminar paper. I have always felt that the 1960's and 1970's produced my favorite artworks. My recent journey back in time to the modern period for my thesis work and a couple of classes has been in pursuit of a better understanding of where these works from "my favorite art movement" came from. As much fun as it is to study contemporary art all day everyday, I felt like this graduate year would be a good opportunity to fill in a couple fuzzy areas in the modern period where I could use some more work. As I suspected, it has been extremely informative and additionally pushed me back towards "my absolute favorite period"--early contemporary, or the 60's, 70's and early 80's, with a better understanding of what was at stake for these artists and their position in the 20th century. The birth of the conceptual as the new basis for art making, which this Greenberg quote surely speaks to, is where I find the most compelling art. This mock exhibition is a tribute to what I consider to be the very best works of "my favorite art historical period." That said, my work in the modern period this year has also got me thinking about what I want my long-term graduate project to be. It is now the connections between the two periods of modern and contemporary that I plan to focus on. More specifically, I want to work on understanding how the issues of the avant-garde are addressed in the early part of the post-modern period by studying both modern and contemporary art. This class might provide me with the chance to get started on this larger project, since I can pick a paper topic that addresses the transition from modern to post-modern art.

Finally: a Poll of my own. Who votes for this as the first conceptual art piece ever? If not, who do you vote for?

Kazimir Malevich, "Black Square"