Denis Dutton, a professor of the philosophy of art at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand and the author of The Art Instinct: Beauty, Pleasure, and Human Evolution
“The appreciation of contemporary conceptual art, on the other hand, depends not on immediately recognizable skill, but on how the work is situated in today�s intellectual zeitgeist. That�s why looking through the history of conceptual art after Duchamp reminds me of paging through old New Yorker cartoons. Jokes about Cadillac tailfins and early fax machines were once amusing, and the same can be said of conceptual works like Piero Manzoni�s 1962 declaration that Earth was his art work, Joseph Kosuth�s 1965 ‘One and Three Chairs‘ (a chair, a photo of the chair and a definition of ‘chair’) or Mr. Hirst�s medicine cabinets. Future generations, no longer engaged by our art ‘concepts’ and unable to divine any special skill or emotional expression in the work, may lose interest in it as a medium for financial speculation and relegate it to the realm of historical curiosity. In this respect, I can�t help regarding medicine cabinets, vacuum cleaners and dead sharks as reckless investments. Somewhere out there in collectorland is the unlucky guy who will be the last one holding the vacuum cleaner, and wondering why.”
I have been mulling over similar points as of late thanks for this article.
I think Dutton has completely misunderstood Conceptual Art. It's no more topical or tied to the fashions of the day than other styles or forms.
Nor is it anymore a dry academic exercise than classical or biblical allusions, received standards in composition, tone or finish.
The plea for what is quickly or easily discerned as 'skill' proves equally unsustainable.
DEATH KIWI!
Dutton's not always someone I agree with, but I think he has a point here. Of course, it doesn't necessarily matter to the artist if a work looses resonance five hundred years from now.
It doesn't have to be either/or.
no indeed it doesn't. and i would further argue that the best conceptual art (insert your own faves here) plays out precisely against the backdrop of this desire for craft virtuosity, so it will retain its resonance and meaning.
And moreover, let's keep our definition of virtuosity fluid. Matisse was an abomination, and now, no one handles paint like him. I read once that Duchamp liked Matisse.
I prefer painting too, but I get worried about these hints of aesthetic house-cleaning.
!