Better Late than Never: Readings

Sol Lewitt, Paragraphs on Conceptual Art

In a way I somewhat agree with Lewitt in the idea that the concept of an art piece is what makes things art. Thinking of it as being an artist having a thought and never having it come out as you wanted it exactly in real life, it would still give you pride in the idea. You may even have the piece come out perfectly and yet no one might see it but still you as the artist would still feel pride in it. An audience isn't always key to art being defined as art either. Such as being stranded alone in the wilderness the act of building a fire for yourself makes you proud and accomplished. I feel that art can and does exist in the nature of the artist's self-concious. We are in fact our own worst critic. Thus we are our audience.



Dick Higgins, A Child's History of Fluxus

This piece is written in an amazing perspective. The Information is very interesting. I as an artist have felt at times that I am being very fluxus. It is a great feeling to be in the mind set and to see things around you. I believe the Fluxus people found something very important and I think people today enjoy living it but I don't think they know what they have. Young Flux People Unite!


Dick Higgins, The Origin of Happening

It's inspiring to me that one man can describe his work and that one description can travel down the grapevine and become the description for so many works. I felt the most important part of the reading were the descriptions of what "happenings" were to different artists. Though they all describe things as "happenings" they all define them differently. The reading caught me off gaurd in how defining happenings occur and what they are.


Allan Kaprow, "essays on the blurring of art and Life"

This writing was a little more difficult to understand but from what I got out of it Kaprow is noticing the function of single catergorized art pieces. As times goes on more and more people use mixed media and intermedia for their works. Although this is true I don't see it as blurring the art it's just stretching it and pushing it to it's limits.