Sol LeWitt \"Sentences on Conceptual Art\" Reading Response PDF

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Summary

A reading response entitled "Occam's Razor, Conceptual Art, and a Little Music" that goes into the method behind perceiving conceptual art in that the simplest answer is often the best answer while also comparing it to the enjoyment and creation of music....

Description

Occam's Razor, Conceptual Art, and a Little Music The whole purpose of conceptual art is something that is so personally intriguing to myself as an artist across many platforms varying from minimalistic digital illustration and design all the way to some idle ear training at the piano. Concept, in this context, can be applied to all of these things, too, because according to Sol LeWitt, conceptual art is art that values concept more than any other aspect of art (LeWitt, 987). That is not to say that conceptual artists value concept so highly that they disregard everything else that involves the piece, though. It is more or a less a statement of observation and appreciation; that the processes of conceptualizing, planning, mapping out, and whatever other precursors the artist decides is necessary is more vital to the piece than the execution. Whether the artist is a visual artist, or even a musician, when they value the research and story that eventually becomes their final product, they are practicing that conceptual way of creation. If that sounded like nonsense, then maybe it was. Conceptual art is not something that is all that simple to describe, and, like LeWitt said, "conceptual art is not necessarily logical (LeWitt 987)." He goes on, using various mathematic logic puzzles as an example, to say that logic might act as a sort of camouflage. Because of this, the idea of the simplest answer being the best answer more often than not—or the usage of the famous law of parsimony, Occam's Razor—came into play. Despite how overtly complex a conceptual piece may seem, and despite how seemingly illogical and improbable, there is usually a simple answer that takes no time to get to. Because "what the work looks like isn't important (LeWitt, 989)," and that the work cannot truly be perceived until it is complete, and that perception varies completely according to so many different rules, that it all kind of points right back to Occam's Razor. When there's too much to look at, just close your eyes. Maybe that's the best answer, or maybe you'll just see what you didn't know you were looking for after you blink....