ART-PRESENTATION: Towards Infinity 1965-1980
Conceptual art is based on the notion that the essence of art is an idea, or concept, and may exist distinct from and in the absence of an object as its representation. Conceptual art practices emerged at a time when the authority of the art institution and the preciousness of the unique aesthetic object were being widely challenged by artists and critics. Conceptual artists interrogated the possibilities of art-as-idea or art-as-knowledge, and to those ends explored linguistic, mathematical, and process-oriented dimensions of thought and aesthetics, as well as invisible systems, structures, and processes.
By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Simon Lee Gallery Archive
The exhibition “Towards Infinity: 1965-1980” focuses on Conceptual artworks of this period. Taking its title from Giovanni Anselmo’s seminal work “Verso l’infinito” (1969), the exhibition explores the dematerialization of the art object and the dismantling of concepts that had bolstered the definition and context of traditional art-making well into the 20th century. The 1960s saw the advent of the Italian Arte Povera movement – coined as such by Germano Celant in 1967. In works such as “Verso l’infinito” (1969) and “Cielo Accorciato” (1970), Anselmo addresses the limits of representation as put forward by established art practices, aiming to demonstrate the ways in which infinity can be conceived by the viewer, although not materially quantified. In Pier Paolo Calzolari’s “Scalea (mi rfea pra)” (1968) three lead steps are frozen using a small refrigerator unit. Invoking a dialectic between hot and cold, weight and weightlessness, the reconciliation of opposites in the work invites comparison with the work of Luciano Fabro, whose “Foro da 8 mm. Tautologia” (1967) is equally concerned with the rationale of perception. Alighiero Boetti’s “Fame di Vento” (1979) was made by a team of art students, Pistoletto’s “Cane allo Specchio” (1971) directly involves the viewer, who becomes part of the work, reflected in its mirrored surface. During the 1960s and 1970s artists became increasingly critical of institutional convention. British collective, Art & Language’s work confronted mainstream art practices, while André Cadere used his “Barres de bois rond” (1970-1978) to liberate himself from the confines of the gallery space. John Baldessari’s “Word Chain: Faucet (Ilene’s story)” (1975) builds a narrative from a fragmentary database of words and images. Collaged together, the cyclical nature of the work hints at events and memories from the eponymous Ilene’s life, while the words guide the viewer’s understanding of its timeline. Challenging the traditional relationship between an idea and its visual explanation, Marcel Broodthaers’ “Roule Moule” (1967) sets out the title of the work beneath a panel of varnished mussels, leading the viewer to consider the structural connection between language and image. In “Staggering” (1972-1973) Gilbert & George likewise grouped photographs that conjured a lived experience. Keiji Uematsu developed an approach to photography that explores the invisible forces at work between body and object, using the photographic medium to explore both sculptural conventions and the act of perception. In the US, Vito Acconci merged performance and photography with works including “Lay of the Land” (1969), in which a simple directive to take pictures from five different points on the artist’s body while lying down in Central Park results in a collection of photographs that challenge the camera’s point of view. On presentation are works by: Vito Acconci, Giovanni Anselmo, Art & Language, John Baldessari, Mel Bochner, Alighiero Boetti, Marcel Broodthaers, Stanley Brouwn, Daniel Buren, André Cadere, Pier Paolo Calzolari, Luciano Fabro, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Gilbert & George, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Paul Thek and Keiji Uematsu.
Info: Simon Lee Gallery, 26 East 64th Street (Second Floor), New York, Duration: 2/5-23/6/17, Days & Hours: Mon-Sat 10:00-18:00, www.simonleegallery.com
