Sol Lewitt
Sentences an Conceptual Art
-
Conceptual Artists are mystics rather than rationalists.
They leap to conclusions that logic cannot reach.
- Rational judgements repeat rational judgements.
- Illogical judgements lead to new experience.
- Formal Art is essentially rational.
- Irrational thoughts should be followed absolutely and logically.
- . If the artist changes his mind midway through the execution of the piece he compro
mises the result and repeats past results.
- The artists will is secondary to the process he initiates from idea to completion.
His wilfulness may only be ego.
- When words such as painting and sculpture are used, they connote a whole tradition
and imply a consequent acceptance of this tradition, this placing limitations an the
artist who would be reluctant to make that goes beyond the limitations.
- The concept and idea are different. The former implies a general direction while
the latter are the components. Ideas implement the concept.
- Ideas alone can be works of art; they are in a chain of development that may even
tually find some form. All ideas need not be made physical.
- Ideas do not necessarily proceed in logical order. They may set one off in unexpected
directions but an idea must necessarily be completed in the mind before the next one
is formed.
- For each work of art that becomes physical there are many variations that do not.
- A work of art may be understood as a conductor from the artists' mind to the viewers.
But it may never reach the viewer, or it may never leave the artist' mind.
- The words of one artist to another may induce an ideas chain, if the share the some
concept,
- Since no form is intrinsically superior to another, the artist may use any form, from
an expression of words, (written or spoken) to physical reality, equally.
- If words are used, and they proceed from ideas about art. then they are art and not
literature, numbers are not amthematik.
- All ideas are art if they are concerned with art and fall within the conventions of
art.
- One usually understands the art of the past by applying the conventions of the pre
sent thus misunderstanding the art of the pest.
- The conventions of art are altered by works of art.
- Succesful art changes our understanding of conventions by altering our perceptions.
- Perception of ideas leads to new ideas.
- The artist cannot imagine his Art, and cannot perceive it until it is complete.
- One artist may mis?perceive (understand it differently than the artist) a work of
art but still be set off in his own chain of thought by that misconstrual.
- Perception is subjective.
- The artist may not necessarily understand his own art. His perception is neither
better nor worse than that of others.
- An artist may perceive the art of others better than his own.
- The concept of a work of art may involve the matter of the piece or the process in
which it is made.
- Once the idea of the piece is established in the artists' mind and the final form is decided, the process is carried out blindly. There are many sideeffects that the artist cannot imagine. These may be used as ideas for new works.
- The process is mechanical and should not be tampered with. It should run its course.
- There are many elements involved in a work of art. The most important are the most
obvious.
- If an artist uses the Same form in a group of works, and changes the material, one
would assume the artists' concept involved the material.
- Banal ideas cannot be rescued by beautiful execution.
- It is difficult to bungle a good idea.
- When an artist learns his craft too well he makes slick art.
- These sentences comment an art, but are not art.
(Veröffentlicht in:
Art - Language, The journal of conceptual art, volume I, Number I Edited by Terry Atkinson, David Bainbridge, Michael Baldwin, Harold Hurrel
May 1969)