Page 21 - Studio International - September 1970

The seventies:
others—will admire. Or it may, as the Expressionists, and even up until the very
Emotive Theory of criticism insists, break recent past, artists felt compelled to analyse
into two components : an expression of feeling art only through the use of its traditional
and an exhortation or prescription. Roughly: post-object art language, or in terms that could be equivoc-
`Good' equals 'Yum-Yum' plus 'Like this !' ated with that language. Likewise, an illusion
It would be inappropriate to explore these was perpetrated that the forms of art were
proposals in detail. My purpose in mentioning timeless, and that any new reality could be
them is to show the strength of the prima facie ceaselessly paralleled using the omnipresent
case that aesthetic judgement is a complex THIS TEXT WAS WRITTEN TO INTRODUCE paint and canvas. The marriage of a 17th-,
business conducted on a variety of scales, not THE EXHIBITION 'CONCEPTUAL ART AND 18th- and 19th-century art form and the new
all of which (if any) are reducible to a single CONCEPTUAL ASPECTS' WHICH OPENED consciousness of the twentieth century was a
common scale. I maintain that aesthetic AT THE NEW YORK CULTURAL CENTER superficial and unharmonious one.
judgement is not in fact conducted, nor could ON APRIL 10 1970 For those who have always associated art
it advantageously be conducted, in terms solely with the objects of painting and sculpture, this
of degrees of goodness. It is in fact conducted One is always dubious about suggesting that new work, not unlike all the new work to
in terms of degrees of originality, degrees of a new artistic activity is 'radical'. This is due, emerge in this century, will seem like a far
splendour, impressiveness, pretentiousness, I suspect, to the situation which has occurred cry indeed from the masterpieces of earlier
disturbingness, and triviality. in the recent past where each slight change in cultures. Inevitably, however, it is the young
And degrees of any one of these are not degrees artistic priorities has been heralded as a artists, and the young artists alone, who define
of any other. Triviality is neither low nor high `breakthrough'. Consequently I feel hesitant what art is, and will be. Because art is man-
in the scale of originality: it is not in the scale to make such a claim now, even though such made, its existence and the nature of its
of originality at all. A work may be original a claim would be justified and supportable. existence is dependent on its capacity to be
and trivial; unoriginal and trivial; unoriginal The 'radical' art referred to here is currently continually redefined and made 'real' again
and profound; or original and profound. And, described as 'idea art', 'analytic art', or and again by each generation.
other things being even approximately equal, `conceptual art'. This last term, 'conceptual In this end of the twentieth century we now
a case of the last kind must be a strong con- art', has taken on a wider meaning in the past know that art does indeed exist as an idea.
tender for more admiration than any of the few months to occasionally include that And we know that quality exists in the think-
others. which, in the scope of the exhibition, I would ing of the artist, not in the object he employs—
The idea that all the serious business of limit consideration of as work with a 'con- if he employs an object at all. We begin to
aesthetic judgement in general, and of art ceptual aspect'. The art chosen for the understand that painting and sculpture are
criticism in particular, can be done in terms of exhibition is work that, at its most material- simply unreal in the coming age of computers
a single scale of 'artistic goodness' is so extra- istic extreme, is the most 'conceptual aspect' and instant travel.
ordinary that one almost wonders—in spite of of work often categorized as 'anti-form', Post-Object Art is based on the premise that
the history of the topic—why such an out- `earthworks', 'art povera' and so on. On the the idea of art has expanded beyond the
landish notion should ever have taken hold. other end of the spectrum is the 'radical' art object or visual experience to an area of
Certainly it is incredible that one should find previously mentioned and, obviously, the area serious art 'investigations'. That is, to a
oneself forced to argue that a single scale is between the two extremes is filled as well. philosophical-like inquiry into the nature of
not appropriate. What is called for—and, I That which separates the 'radical' or, as I the concept 'art' so that the working proced-
suggest, will not be forthcoming—is a con- prefer to name it, the Post-Object Art', from ure of the artist not only encompasses the
vincing argument that such a scale is appro- the rest, is its complete break from formal formulation of works, but also annexes the
priate. aesthetic considerations, while at the same traditional one of the critic.
If I had to summarize my case against Mr time equally divorced from dada, gestural, or Joseph Kosuth, the American earliest to
Greenberg's critical stance very briefly it mystical and poetic activity or justification. begin such work, has stated : `... conceptual
would go something like this: that the sub- The earlier versions of a conceptual kind of art, then, is an inquiry by artists that under-
merged conceptual and philosophical ma- art—such as Sol LeWitt's or Donald Judd's— stand that artistic activity is not solely
chinery is quite unrealistically primitive, and were actually a non expressionistic system by limited to the framing of art propositions, but
the more visible parts of the performance—the which to build sculpture. And while this further, the investigation of the function,
particular judgements and historical generali- work is historically significant, and probably meaning, and use of any and all (art)
zations—tend to be authoritarian, and cast in was necessary for the existence of the work propositions, and their consideration within
forms that do not encourage debate. One has under discussion, it should not be confused as the concept of the general term "art". And as
an unwholesome sense of the 'good eye' being the same. well, that an artist's dependence on the critic
functioning for Greenbergian criticism much Certain aspects of Post-Object Art have their or writer to cultivate the conceptual implica-
as divine inspiration has functioned for holy `roots' in mainstream twentieth-century art, tions of his art propositions, and argue their
warriors. Both seem to feel that, however and indeed, it is a logical outgrowth of the explication, is either intellectual irresponsi-
momentous their acts, there is ultimately accomplishments of the art of the modern bility or the naivest kind of mysticism.'
nothing to discuss. period. Hone considers painting and sculpture In Europe, the work in England of Terry
My own view, for what it is worth, is that we the 'language' of past art, it is easy to see that Atkinson and Michael Baldwin began this
have a great deal to discuss including the the art of the modern period, that is, the art activity there, and it was they who later
aesthetic worth of works of art. Matters of since Manet, of a century ago, has changed its founded The Art & Language Press, the
taste are eminently disputable. q focus from the use of this language to convey publisher of the journal Art-Language. There
a thought external to the work itself (portrai- is also a New York-based group called The
ture, religious and historical scenes, etc.), to Society For Theoretical Art and Analysis,
This is taken from the Lecture as delivered. It is more focusing on the 'language' itself. And in this comprised of the three artists Ian Burn, Mel
succinct than the published version (Sydney, 1969).
unique way, art became 'art oriented'. Ramsden, and Roger Cutforth.
2 Lecture in Sydney, May 21, 1968.
3 In answer to my question in public discussion, From the beginning of the modern_ period, On Kawara, one of the first artists to begin
with the multiple movements in the School working in this entire sphere of activity, began
Sydney, May 21, 1968.
4 Lecture, Sydney, May 21, 1968. of Paris, through to the American Abstract by employing as 'meaningless' or fit subject