Page 61 - Studio International - September October 1975
P. 61

generation to the next.' Public space is   8   Henry Flynnt Jr., 'Concept Art', printed
                                            equally accepted by us in this      in Anthology, Heiner Friedrich 1961,
                                            unquestioning way, and we are       ed. La Motte Young, 1963.
                                            conditioned to read it as being unusable   4   John Cage, 'The Musical Object' quoted in
                                                                                 P. Carpenter, Current Musicology.
                                            for private activity. Dimitriejvic's work   5   Yvonne Reiner, interview in Avalanche,
                                            activates the space, and in so doing alters   summer 1972, p. 5o.
                                            our perception of it.               6  Kurt Lewin, Principal of Topological
                                                                                 Psychology, New York, 1936. Lewin
                                            Theory and practice, again          mentions three kinds of interaction
                                                                                between regions. The first is locomotion, the
                                            The description of these works makes one   second communication, in which a part of
                                            thing clear: performance art, now as in   region A extends to region B so that there's
                                            the twenties, directly reflects spatial   an overlap, and the third is a powerfield, in
                                            preoccupations in the art world. But   which a circle or oval develops from region
                                            unlike the twenties, when the separation   A to cover region B. The powerfield would
                                            between theory and practice (in a   be the most inclusive.
                                            dialectical form or not) was absolute, it is   7  Vito Acconci, interview, Avalanche, fall
                                            difficult to separate where 'conceptual'   1972, p. 72.
                                            art ends and performance begins. For   8  Ibid, p. 76.
                                                                                9   Willoughby Sharp, 'Body Works', in
                                            conceptual art contains the premise that   Avalanche no 1, fall 1970, p. 15.
                                            the idea may or may not be executed.   10 Carl Andre, interview in  Avalanche,
                                            Sometimes it is theoretical or conceptual,   fall 1970, p. 24.
                                            sometimes it is material and performed.   11 Bruce Nauman, interview in  Avalanche,
                                            So too with performance art. It even uses   winter 1971, p. 24.
                                            a 'conceptual' language (photograph,   12   Moholy-Nagy discussed the effect of
        Daniel Buren  Stripes               diagram, documentation) to communicate   body mechanism in his essay 'Theatre,
        8.7 cm. wide                        ideas. So on the one hand, the language of   Circus, Variety': 'The effect of the body
                                            conceptual art has expanded that of   mechanism arises essentially from the
                                                                                spectator's astonishment or shock at the
                                            performance art to a point where the
        work intangible it was hoped that these   medium of communication is very   potentialities of his own organism as
        operations could be short-circuited. Of   similar. On the other hand, and in   demonstrated to him by others'. (Die
                                                                                 Bühne im Bauhaus, 1925, republished 1965
        course the gradual acceptance of such   reverse, performance has altered the way
        work by this same circle, and its saleable   that conceptual artists were working.   by S. Kupserberg, p. 45.)
                                                                                 11 Simone Forti,  Handbook in Motion, Nova
        objecthood in the form of text,     Whether, for instance, Nauman       Scotia College of Art Press, 1974, p. 31.
        photograph and document, has never   considered his early body work as 'dance   14   Oskar Schlemmer discussed this in detail
        truly revolutionized the use of art in the   pieces without being a dancer,' or Bob   in his essay 'Mathematics of the Dance',
        existing culture. But the USE of the   Morris was influenced by working   1926: 'if one were to imagine space filled
        gallery space itself has certainly become   with Simone Forti and Yvonne Reiner,   with a soft, pliable substance in which the
        more flexible. The space need not be   clearly the dancers' spatial attitudes and   figures of the sequence of the dancers'
        merely a showcase for marketable goods,   conceptual approaches had a reciprocal   movement were to harden as a negative
        but can at best be considered a public   influence.                     form 11 11 . this would demonstrate the
        area for certain experimental workshops   It is therefore interesting to see that   relationship of the geometry of the plane to
                                                                                the stereometry of the space'.
        and reciprocal experiences. Although   Schlemmer's 'space as praxis' has been   11 Yvonne Reiner,  Avalanche, summer 1972,
        there are numerous other works which   brought far beyond its original   p.50.
        could fit this discussion, one further   restrictions by the relationship between   16   Ibid.
        aspect should be considered: that of   conceptual artists and performers. But it   17   Interview with author, June 1975.
        artists like Daniel Buren and Braco   has not gone beyond a very loose   18 Graham's pieces are particularly
        Dimitriejvic, who have sometimes refuted   interpretation of theory, a confusion   structured to allow for 'spectator space'
        the gallery space, and by moving outside   between theory and written instructions,   and the spectators' unexpected perceptual
        it have tended to act as a critique of, and   between theory and two-dimensional   changes. Whereas Nauman and Acconci's
                                                                                  orks are more directed to personalized
        attempted to manipulate our perception   expression. Allowing for this generalized   projections of the artists' private space;
        of, public space.                   notion of theory as `concept,' drawing' or   an implied relationship between artist and
         Buren's striped canvases, unchanged   `documentation,' however, it is clear that   viewer.
        in nine years, presented in a gallery or   when dance or conceptual art
        outside it, imply a rhetoric on the idea of   `instructions' are performed, space is
        public and private space. By opposing the   identified with practice. It is in space
        two, inside and outside, the gallery with   that ideas are materialised, experience
        its specialized audience becomes a   experienced. Space consequently
        symbol of private, exclusive territory.   becomes the essential element in the
        While the stripes in public space (metro,   notion of practice.
       advertising billboards, sandwich men)
       force a new dimension on public space.
        Not by altering the space as such, but
        rather by enforcing the reality of each
       space.
         Braco Dimitriejvic, on the other hand,
        plays with conventional cognition of
        public spaces by using it for private
        unknown persons. He erects monuments
        to 'casual passers-by' in public squares,
       or as blown-up photographs on billboards,
        buses or on monumental public buildings,   The publication A Space: A Thousand
       and so questions the relationship between   Words is an exact reproduction of the
       specific public information and the   exhibition, including introductory texts by
       individual and that between man and his   the organizers. It is available through the
       exterior reality: I refer primarily to our   Arts Council of Great Britain.
                                            2  Quoted in Lucy Lippard's book
       automatic acceptance of particular forms   Six Years: The Dematerialization of the
        of information dispersal, while     Art Object, p. 127. The broadcast took place
        disregarding its real content and to the   in November 1969, with Lawrence Weiner,
        passive and negative attitudes which are   Robert Barry, Douglas Huebler, and Joseph
        passed through education from one    Kosuth.
                                                                                                              135
   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66