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

Julian Schnabel

Julian Schnabel - Adieu - 1996 - Oil and resin on canvas - 96 x 96 in. - Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.Julian Schnabel (born 1951) was one of the artists who worked to restore painting to its pre-abstraction status. He and other of his contemporaries “balanced technical concerns with emotional resonance”. Contradicting the highly intellectualized movements of Minimalism and Conceptual Art—Schnabel’s art is filled (in some cases to excess) with both emotion and materials. He first became known for his paintings on velvet and for canvases whose surfaces were built up of shattered crockery and other found materials. He is one of the rare artists who enjoyed instant  international success with his work, in part because he emerged during a time when aggressive marketing and attention was being paid to the business of selling art. 

Schnabel's work frequently features religious imagery— particularly Catholic iconography and themes. Living in Texas with his family placed him close to the Mexican border, and he became very familiar with Mexican and Meso-American cultural and religious practices. These influences, along with references to pop culture, are reflected in his art.

"When you make art, people try to stop you from doing it, and everything's sort of designed to stop you from doing it. So the fact that it exists is a wonderful thing.” - Julian Schnabel

Eric Fischl: Neo-Expressionism’s Bad Boy

Erich Fischl - The Sheer Weight of History - 1982 - Oil on canvas - 60 x 60 in. (click photo for larger image)Like its predecessor (Expressionism) Neo-Expressionism was a broad and diverse movement. Dominating the art market during the early and mid-1980s, its practitioners were reacting against the remote and highly abstract artistic production of the 1970s—introducing such elements as recognizable objects and the human figure back into the artistic vocabulary. They did reject traditional standards of composition and design—and their work is characterized by a brittle emotional tone that reflected the urban life and values of the day. 

In the 1970s and ‘80s, Eric Fischl (born 1948) became particularly noted as Neo-Expressionism's “bad boy with his psychologically charged depictions of American suburbia”. Fischl’s mother suffered severe bouts of alcoholism and depression. These became a key influence on his work. Fischl was compelled to break through societal facades—focusing on issues of family dynamics, human vulnerability and a range of taboo subjects. He is also well-known as a premiere figurative painter.

Neo-Expressionism was the perfect vehicle for an artist exploring internal conflicts—and Fischl rendered them uncomfortably universal. "I vowed that I would never let the unspeakable also be unshowable. I would paint what could not be said.” - Eric Fischl

A Harsh Scrutiny of American Society

Edward Kienholz and Nancy Reddin Kienholz - Sollie 17 - 1979-80 - mixed media construction - 120 x 336 x 168 in. - Smithsonian American Art Museum - Washington, D.C. (click photo for larger image)“An American artist of unwavering originality, critical insight, and notoriety, Edward Kienholz (1927-1994) created powerful work that reflected upon contemporary social and political issues of late twentieth-century America.” His work conveys a harsh scrutiny of American Society. The work featured here raises questions about society’s treatment of the elderly.

Kienholz grew up in a working-class family on a farm in the state of Washington. He learned auto repair, carpentry and metalworking skills that ultimately fed into his art. He never studies art in school, but did pursue painting, on his own, until he moved to Los Angeles in 1953. He then began producing large wooden reliefs composed of found objects and industrial paints (procured from auto shops and the like). He eventually moved away from the relief format to concentrate on creating elaborately detailed three-dimensional assemblages. 

Keinholz often worked on projects with his fifth wife and fellow artist—Nancy Reddin Kienholz (born 1943). They began producing work together from 1972 forward.

Dan Flavin - “It is what it is and it ain't nothing else.”

Dan Flavin - Rhine-Elbe Science Park - 1996 - Gelsenkirchen, GermanyAmerican Minimalist artist Dan Flavin (1933-1996) won fame for creating objects and installations from commercially available fluorescent light fixtures. 

He emphatically denied that his sculptural light installations had any kind of transcendent, symbolic, or sublime dimension, stating: "It is what it is and it ain't nothing else.” Nevertheless, potential associations with the concept of light - from religious conversion to intellectual epiphanies - are discernible in Flavin's work, whether or not such interpretations were the artist’s intentions.

Flavin’s light "propositions," which he did not consider sculptures, are made up of standardized, commercially available materials, much like the readymades by Marcel Duchamp, which Flavin very much admired.

One of Flavin's last works was the lighting program featured here. The arcade was designed by Uwe Kiessler; it stretches 980 feet and connects nine buildings.

Many of the artist’s works are permanently installed at Dia - located at 23 Corwith Avenue in Bridgehampton, New York.