Sol LeWitt: An Artist of Ideas

Sol LeWitt - Floor Structure - 1963 - Painted wood - 6' x 46" x 36” - Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York (click photo for larger image)Minimalist artist Sol LeWitt (1928-2007) “earned a place in the history of art for his leading role in the Conceptual movement. His belief in the artist as a generator of ideas was instrumental in the transition from the modern to the postmodern era”. Interestingly, some of his methods recalled practices from the Middle Ages. In the spirit of the medieval workshop, the master (LeWitt) would develop preliminary drawings of his artistic conceptions, then leave it to a group of assistants to carry out the project. Unlike his medieval predecessors, LeWitt’s instructions were kept deliberately vague, so that the end result was not completely controlled by the artist. 

He believed that an idea (or the directions attached to an idea) could be works of art in and of themselves. So his emphasis was on process and basic materials (or the lack of them). The use of industrial materials common to many of LeWitt’s contemporaries implied a certain expectation of permanence with regard to a work of art. In direct contrast, LeWitt appreciated the ephemeral character and impermanence of Conceptual art. In short, he let the traditional materials speak for themselves, to demonstrate their own vulnerability to decay, destruction, or obsolescence. British artist Francis Bacon (1909-1992) seems to have had a similar thought process. He often painted on raw canvas, without preparing it, because he believed that a work of art—like an artist—should have a life span.

"I wasn't really that interested in objects. I was interested in ideas.” - Sol LeWitt