Systems of logic and belief : an investigation of some conceptual art strategies

Abstract

Conceptual art came to prominence in the 1960s under the rubric of dematerialising the object of art, foregrounding art as idea. It was in part reaction to the preoccupation with medium-specificity that had prevailed in previous decades. This exegesis describes the programme and outcomes of practice-led research into how some of the strategies that were deployed by conceptual artists may or may not translate into present day practices and technologies. The main focus is on strategies of systematic process; on word and sign; and on matters of authorship and appropriation. The outcomes are represented by two main bodies of work. The first consists in series of advertising signs, with an emphasis on the nature of photography and its semiotic interpretations, the process of appropriation, and the place of the everyday in conceptual art. The second body of work is the outcome of an exploration of the systematic drawings and prints of Sol LeWitt, how computer technology may intervene, and how that intervention may affect the work's reception. Issues arise around matters of authorship, control, art versus craft, and the normalising influence of the art market.