As this is the first class I have taken on conceptual design strategies, a lot of the information is new to me. After reading this article I feel like I understand a little more about conceptual art. Sol Lewitt's thoughts on the importance of conceptual art being on the idea rather than the outcome was interesting to me, as I felt that "working" artists would need to create a piece that is appealing to the audience, closer to perceptual art rather than conceptual; here it in unnecessary or "purposeless". The thought behind the art is more important than what comes from all the work and time put into the piece. To me, it truly feels meaningless to create art that has no purpose, to focus on the effort behind it regardless if the idea ever gets completed.
This article prompted me to do a google search on the idea of creating art for the purpose of destroying it, and I found a newspaper that is both print and online from Beirut, Lebanon. How ironic, considering my family is from Beirut!
"Making Something Just To Destroy It"
September 7, 2011
By: Jim Quilty
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Culture/Art/2011/Sep-07/148113-making-something-just-to-destroy-it.ashx#axzz1Xm498BIe
The article discusses the importance of a project they run for children ages 9-12 years old, where they are instructed to create something and then destroy it to remove the fear of impermanence. They had the group of children create a city, destroy it, rebuild it and then destroy it again. The emphasis of the art was the concept behind the creation, regardless of the fact that in the end there was no tangible result. The children learned that either by the hand of man or nature, the world and their cities will change and we must rebuild and not be afraid of the inevitable changes.
After reading this article, it really tied in the idea of conceptual art and its purposelessness with the importance of focusing on what the artist(s) get out of the process rather than the physical end result for the audience.
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