Jonathan drew my attention to some of the Sentences on Conceptual Art by Sol Lewitt -in particular sentences 19, 20 and 21, copied below. This interests me in that these come straight from the artist. The sentences themselves are food for thought, as is also the idea of making a list of sentences about my own work.
19. The conventions of art are altered by works of art.
20. Successful art changes our understanding of the conventions by altering our perceptions.
21. Perception of ideas leads to new ideas.
The line is a feature of Sol LeWitt’s work and I see that a continual re-evaluation of the line element in my work would be enriching and valuable.
I work to my own system in painting based on fundamental units, one of them being the element of line, as evidenced in this post’s header image (detail of painting in progress)
I found an interview with Sol LeWitt, so again, from the artist himself,
The system is the work of art; the visual work of art is the proof of the system.
and later on in the same interview (I find the last sentence most interesting):
SO (interviewer): If you could add a paragraph or revise the “Sentences on Conceptual Art,” what changes would you make? Have you thought of writing a new text to represent what appear to be significant changes in your views?
SL (artist): I have no problem with the sentences. Although they pertain specifically to the art of the ’60s, they are pertinent to my thinking now. I wouldn’t delete or add anything. The art of today is a lot grander and more opulent than before, but the process of art-thinking hasn’t changed very much—it’s the emphasis that has changed.
and now for some of my own sentences:
Sentences on the line by J Waring Rago:
a line is a dot which has grown
straight lines suggest structure, particularly lines in parallel
an edge is usually misrepresented by a line
the horizon is a line
a circle is a single line
a circular line encloses
circles are easy to draw
a perfect circle is not easy to draw
a straight line is easy to draw
a perfectly straight line is not easy to draw
lines flow
lines give direction
a line is temporal
a horizontal line is one thing, a vertical line an entirely different thing
a diagonal line is dynamic
a line can be strong or weak or anywhere in between
a line may be quick or slow
a line denotes flat
a line denotes not-flat
a line can become a wave
a line can last forever
a line carries its origin within it
anyone can draw a line
a line is not necessarily drawn using the hand
many many more sentences can be written about the line
the above sentences are to be read in no particular order, hence they are not numbered
I shall add to these sentences as I go, generating future posts extending from this one.
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