ARTDEX
A giant figure of the Conceptual movement of the 1960s and ’70s, Lawrence Weiner died in December 2021. Weiner experimented with the slippery nature of language and the ways that words convey meaning through his sculptural installations composed with paradoxical texts. As a godfather of Conceptualism, a label that he himself often quibbled with, he stated in his 1969 manifesto “Statements” which is considered an influential statement for that movement:
“(1) The artist may construct the piece.
(2) The piece may be fabricated.
(3) The piece need not be built.”
It goes on to suggest that the artist may dictate how a work is made, but the person mounting it is just as much an author of it. And yet the three statements that seem to disagree with one another.
Taking inspiration from semiotics, Weiner began making his wall texts in sans-serif fonts he liked for their universality, as he said in an interview for Interview magazine. The critics saw in Weiner’s work all sorts of lofty ideas about language and its limitations, but Weiner was relatively straightforward about his art. Although Weiner’s art has academic origins, its rebellious spirit has led to a wider audience’s appreciation. Read on and learn more – https://www.artdex.com/remembering-lawrence-weiner-and-art-of-semiotics-conceptual-art-series-part-5/
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