Sol Lewitt Response

I've always been cloudy on the idea of conceptual art. My level of understanding still evoked appreciation, but Sol seems to be very specific about his art categorization therefore presents a very straightforward definition of conceptual art.

The idea must transcend the visual aesthetic of the piece. As Sol puts this, conceptual art is, "the idea is the machine that creates the art." This is interesting, he describes art that is logical and planned leads to the death of the idea of the art. This translates to artists creating works that are heavy on visual aesthetic are shells of an idea an artist once had. Can conceptual art be on the opposite side of the spectrum of commercial art?

Much of the conceptual pieces I have experienced are very minimal. I agree with Sol that the idea then becomes the main point of the piece. However, the concept can sometimes be very obscure because of the lack of visual presentation, making the piece hard to relate to. I guess that is something that viewers of conceptual art are great at doing, is seeing right through the media.

This article has been great at setting the tone of the first project.