Conceptual Art: Dan Graham

Dan Graham - For Gordon Bunshaft

This Minimalist ensemble by Dan Graham is right in the middle of the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden. Two way mirror, steel, wood: perhaps the term of Installation would fit better than sculpture.

I said Minimalist: actually it is a bit more, and Graham made the journey from Minimalism to Conceptualism. Trying to understand what Conceptual Art means is challenging (not that Minimalism would be much easier). If we stick to Sol LeWitt's definition (in Conceptual Art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work. When an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all of the planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair. The idea becomes a machine that makes the art) we will not advance too far.

Looking at the artwork of Dan Graham will give us at least some insights:

• Conceptualism evolved from Minimalism
• Conceptualism takes more interest in the relationship between artwork and ambient
  
• Using the term Installation instead of any traditional term (like sculpture) makes sense: a Conceptual artwork is installed in an ambient and the dialog with the ambient is crucial
• Anyway, all traditional categories of art are no more applicable and any ready-made object can become an artwork in its own right
• The definition given by Tony Godfrey (Conceptual Art is an Art which questions the very nature of what is understood as Art) makes sense: we know at least what Conceptual Art is not
  

(Hirshhorn Museum)


(Contemporary Art)