Do you know what conceptualism is? This is one of the directions of scholastic philosophy. According to this doctrine, the manifestation of knowledge comes with experience, but does not come from the experience gained. Conceptualism can also be represented as a synthesis of rationalism with empiricism. This term comes from the Latin word conceptus, which means thought, concept. Despite the fact that this is a philosophical movement, it is also a cultural trend that arose in the 20th century.
Representatives of conceptualism
Pierre Abelard, two John - Duns Scott and Salisbury, John Duns, John Locke - all these philosophers are united by conceptualism. These are those philosophers who believe that ideas common to all are manifested during the acquisition of experience by a private person. That is, until we come across one or another phenomenon, we will not understand the essence of this or that universal human problem. For example, until we experience injustice, we do not understand the very essence of justice. By the way, this theory has become widespread in the creative environment - conceptualism in art, in particular in painting. His most prominent representative among artists is Joseph Kossuth, and among musicians - Henry Flint.
Concept art
Joseph Kossuth explained the significance of this theory in a complete rethinking of the functioning of works of art and culture in general. He argued that art is the power of an idea, but by no means a material. His composition “One Man and Three Chairs”, which he completed in 1965, became a classic example of conceptualism. Conceptualism in painting does not refer to the spiritual and emotional perception of what is depicted, but to the comprehension of what is seen through the intellect. In conceptual art, the concept of works of art, whether it be a painting or a book, or a musical creation, is more important than its physical expression. This means that the main purpose of art is precisely the transfer of thought, idea. By the way, the conceptual objects can be more modern types of works, for example, photographs, video or audio materials, etc.
Conceptualism in painting
As already noted, one of the most ideological representatives of this trend is the artist Marcel Duchamp (France). He prepared the ground for the conceptualists for a long time, creating readymades. The most famous of them was the "Fountain" -pissoire created by the artist in 1917. By the way, he was presented at an exhibition organized for independent artists in New York. What did Duchamp want to show with his work? The urinal is a common item used for sanitary purposes. If it is produced in a factory, then naturally it cannot be considered a work of art. However, if a creator, an artist participated in its creation, the urinal ceases to be an ordinary household item, because it is unique, has aesthetic advantages, and thought was used to create it. In short, conceptualism is the triumph of ideas over emotions. This makes this or that work valuable.
Russian conceptualism
This philosophical and artistic movement also took place in Russia, in particular in Moscow. It began in the unofficial art of the Soviet Union in the early 70s of the last century. However, the term Moscow conceptualism arose a bit later, in 1979, with the light hand of Boris Groys, who published an article entitled “Romantic Moscow Conceptualism” in the journal “From A to Z”. It has two branches: literary-centric and analytical.
Conceptual art examples
The first significant work in this direction, exhibited in 1953, is the work of Robert Rauschenberg “Erased drawing of Quing”. Admit, a strange name for an art sample. In addition, the question arises: who is the author of this work - Rauschenberg or Quing? The thing is that some time after the creation of this drawing by Willem de Kooning, Robert Milton Ernest Rauschenberg erased it and presented it for his work. The essence of his action was dictated by the desire to challenge the idea of traditional art. He was a supporter of the readymade - a conceptual trend in painting, according to which it does not matter who the original author is, the final result is important, that is, the idea that is embedded in the created work. The most obvious example of a readmeid is collages collected from fragments of different works. Another representative of this trend, Yves Klein, became the author of "Aerostatic sculpture of Paris." To do this, he needed 1,001 balloons and placed them in the sky above Paris. This was done to advertise the exhibition over Le Weid.
Conclusion
So, the founder of this trend is Marcel Duchamp. It was he who proposed the definition that in art is important not an object, but an idea. The final result is not important, its aesthetics, but it is important who the author is and what was the meaning of his idea. In a word, conceptualism is such a trend in painting, literature, music, in art as a whole, in which works by and large are incomprehensible to the viewer, reader, listener, or they are perceived by each in a special way.