A Comprehensive Interpretation of a Work of Art

Introduction

In the late 1960s, several artists involved in the development of Conceptual Art (notably the Americans Joseph Kosuth and Sol LeWitt, and the Anglo/American group Art & Language) put forward a substantial challenge to the conventional belief that aesthetic judgments are valid within art. Although this way of thinking was not entirely new, the late sixties marked a time when artists themselves began to argue for a separation between aesthetics and art.. (Hall, 44)

A Comprehensive Interpretation of a Work of Art

I believe that such Conceptual Artists portray immense skill in presenting and communicating powerful messages. In contrast to this Perceptual Artists present visual information and use this as their sole method of communication. Although Perceptual art demonstrates skill in the manipulation of visual media and techniques Conceptual Art grasps the audience by making them think more and can often overwhelm the viewer with the sensory experience of the idea or issue. Conceptual Art challenges people's conceptions of what art actually is and also, challenges the traditional status and unique nature of artistic objects.

It can include installations, performance, assemblageand site-specific work where In these, the audience is not just viewing the art but rather being shoved into the environmental context, and becoming part of the work of art itself. Conceptual Art highlights social factors and is often emotional, psychological and confrontational. These factors provide the meaning behind the work and emphasise the value of comunication communication of an issue idea or message. One particular Conceptual Art piece which exerted controversial output was Marcel Duchamp's sculpture entitled `Fountain'. Duchamp obtained a commercial porcelain urinal signed it `R. Mutt' and entered it into an exhibition. Duchamp gradduated graduated from a relatively traditional form of painting through several phases of cubism to forms of Dada expression. His disillusionment ultimately overtook his painting and sculpture, as his most important personal concept as an artist was that art is built on the an idea rather than a physical object. (Peter, 28)

However, the concept of a conceptualist exhibiting his/her work in a gallery provides ironic circumstances, as viewers asemble assemble to view the concept as though it were an object of art rather than an idea. Duchamp experienced this dilemma as he himself described"I threw the urinoir into their faces and now they come back and admire it for its beauty". In this sense Conceptual Art inevitably raises questions and its possibilities are fairly infinite. Perceptual Art relies solely on the value of the final end product and creates innovations in technical and visual production. It uses visual medias media, painting and sculpture to often highlight a multi-layered experience. This technique can be visually stimulatingyet it lacks confrontational insight and it also avoids any active involvement by the audience. Perceptual Art gives an analysis of visual problems yet it can only grasp and solve them with visual media. The subjects of a perceptual piece of artwork are emotionally passive and intellectually observed. They can include landscaped pieces, portraits, and still-life ...