Sol LeWitt was a good theoretician as well as practitioner of conceptual art. As LeWitt saw it, the idea is the work of art, not the object. The conceptual artist’s job is to articulate a concept of the work of art; someone else can make it. The concept is equivalent to a set of instructions: for making marks on a surface, constructing something, or otherwise manipulating materials. LeWitt also graciously understood that the person who actually does the art has a lot of decisions to make, contributing importantly to the finished work.
The idea of concept art has the artist doing the work, as usual. If I understand Jill, she sees concept art as work that embodies a concept important in human life; something broad and general, like time, or the past, or death. Examples frequently involve time, not surprisingly: what is more abstract and general? (One example Jill offered me is Penny Michel’s ceramic sculpture.) All the instances of concept art i’ve seen at Hammerfriar are contemporary; that’s what Jill shows. And i think the subtlety and a certain ironic obscurity often characteristic of contemporary art not only appeal to Jill’s sensibility, but also fit concept art. Even so, i wonder: would the right contemporary works, subtler, yet reminiscent of the literalism and overt symbolism of medieval memento mori art also make the cut? i’m thinking yes.
Lamentably, Wikipedia does not note this meaning for “concept art.” Its definition is: “Concept art is a form of illustration where the main goal is to convey a visual representation of a design, idea, and/or mood for use in movies, video games, animation, or comic books before it is put into the final product. Concept art is also referred to as visual development and/or concept design. “
Wikipedia needs updating.
