Conceptual Photography

Conceptual Art began as a rejection of the aesthetic and Fine Art principles of the traditional art world. Marcel Duchamp's 'Readymades' in 1917 could be considered the first attempt to break away from the importance of technique and skill when making art. It wasn't until the 1960s that Conceptual Art really went mainstream and became known by the wider public - although that isn't to say that it was well received or accepted. Since this time photography has frequently been used as a tool to engage with ideas and make conceptual work.

Conceptual Art has to be about something, rather than just an aesthetic or pictorial ideal. To quote the Source video "What Is Conceptual Art" It has to "come with a rich collection of ideas, analysis, intertextuality, and or historical referencing." That these rich ideas cannot always be instantly read when looking at conceptual work, and usually has to be accompanied by an artist's statement, can be a cause of complaint by the viewer. The idea overrides everything else. Although that does not mean that work made within this genre cannot have anaesthetic appeal; it is just not a primary consideration.

Since the 1960s Conceptual work has continued to evolve and the meaning has become blurred or encompassed more kinds of Art that may not have been considered conceptual before. The terms "anti-emotional", "anti-personal", and "anti-subjective" have been used to describe conceptual photography. While I can see these terms being useful as a rough guide to help categorise types of work I particularly take issue with the term "anti-subjective". How is that even possible? Some artists argue that all work has an idea behind it, so therefore all work is conceptual. I would say that the framework of ideas that surround conceptual art photography has become generally incorporated as a working method for many art photographers.  Work can be aesthetically pleasing or not. But work that does not have a strong concept can be weak.

The image below is from a Gesture & Meaning assignment. I made it as part of a series that looks at stereotyping in advertising. I used digital cut-outs from old advertising campaigns to construct a point of view on sexism, minority representation and other aspects of stereotyping by the media. The concept was foremost in my mind when making the work, although aesthetic considerations such as, composition were not ignored.  

This piece of work "Family. Armoured. Fetish. Consumer." also from the Gesture & Meaning course, looks at identity groups that make up aspects of our personalities. As the whole sequence was made to fit a concept I believe that it can be considered conceptual in outlook.