By: Keith Peterson
After I heard we were going to the Des Moines Art Center I started to think back to when art was actually a passion of mine. I was heavily involved in the art program throughout high school and planned on continuing my studies when I arrived at Iowa. However, after my first art and visual culture class I realized that if I was going to succeed in finance I would have to leave my passion for art behind. There was no way I would be able to handle both at the same time and I knew that finance was a guarantee and I was content with that.
So during our visit to the Des Moines Art Center I found myself just wondering around gazing at the art work reminiscing of when I would go to the University Of Iowa Museum Of Art in Iowa City. It wasn’t until it was almost time to go that I realized I hadn’t picked anything out yet. Multiple works of art stuck out to me but I just wouldn’t settle on anything. It wasn’t until I saw Wall Drawing by Sol LeWitt that I realized what I was looking for. This massive piece of work covered the entire wall it was on and during my discussion with an Art Center employee I found out that LeWitt literally had to draw it on that exact wall. There was literally no other way of getting that inside the Art Center in one piece.
As I stood in front of Wall Drawing I tried to imagine his rationale for the design. Why would he choose to depict every angle and shape of the cube in such a magnified way? Sol LeWitt was very into conceptual art and he liked to use forms as an expression of a geometric system. He believed that the system, much like a mathematical equation, determines where and how the shapes will be repeated. This belief made me think that his work was more than just ink on the wall but rather a complex idea that was constructed to challenge the viewer. Susan Sontag stated in her article, Photography, that photos are appropriations of the subject “putting oneself into a certain relation to the world that feels like knowledge – and, therefore, like power” (Sontag, 1973). This idea coupled with LeWitt’s basis for his creations made me feel as though he was trying to teach us something when he constructed these large pieces. I believe that he wanted us all to be able to walk away feeling as though we learned something about conceptual art and gained some respect for the process behind the construction.
The color, wall size, room size, and light are all variables that reflect how concepts will be realized. The fact that he didn’t use a frame but rather the entire space he was given makes the architecture of the given space the actual support and frame. The drawing is in fact one with the wall and would not have the impact it does if it were smaller and framed like traditional art.
The image above is not the one I selected by Sol LeWitt; however, the boxes of different cubes on the wall to the left in the photo are dramatically similar to the one in the Des Moines Art Center. I included this image to give you an idea of LeWitt’s conceptual style and obsession with the geometric system and the variety of interpretation.
After I heard we were going to the Des Moines Art Center I started to think back to when art was actually a passion of mine. I was heavily involved in the art program throughout high school and planned on continuing my studies when I arrived at Iowa. However, after my first art and visual culture class I realized that if I was going to succeed in finance I would have to leave my passion for art behind. There was no way I would be able to handle both at the same time and I knew that finance was a guarantee and I was content with that.
So during our visit to the Des Moines Art Center I found myself just wondering around gazing at the art work reminiscing of when I would go to the University Of Iowa Museum Of Art in Iowa City. It wasn’t until it was almost time to go that I realized I hadn’t picked anything out yet. Multiple works of art stuck out to me but I just wouldn’t settle on anything. It wasn’t until I saw Wall Drawing by Sol LeWitt that I realized what I was looking for. This massive piece of work covered the entire wall it was on and during my discussion with an Art Center employee I found out that LeWitt literally had to draw it on that exact wall. There was literally no other way of getting that inside the Art Center in one piece.
As I stood in front of Wall Drawing I tried to imagine his rationale for the design. Why would he choose to depict every angle and shape of the cube in such a magnified way? Sol LeWitt was very into conceptual art and he liked to use forms as an expression of a geometric system. He believed that the system, much like a mathematical equation, determines where and how the shapes will be repeated. This belief made me think that his work was more than just ink on the wall but rather a complex idea that was constructed to challenge the viewer. Susan Sontag stated in her article, Photography, that photos are appropriations of the subject “putting oneself into a certain relation to the world that feels like knowledge – and, therefore, like power” (Sontag, 1973). This idea coupled with LeWitt’s basis for his creations made me feel as though he was trying to teach us something when he constructed these large pieces. I believe that he wanted us all to be able to walk away feeling as though we learned something about conceptual art and gained some respect for the process behind the construction.
The color, wall size, room size, and light are all variables that reflect how concepts will be realized. The fact that he didn’t use a frame but rather the entire space he was given makes the architecture of the given space the actual support and frame. The drawing is in fact one with the wall and would not have the impact it does if it were smaller and framed like traditional art.
The image above is not the one I selected by Sol LeWitt; however, the boxes of different cubes on the wall to the left in the photo are dramatically similar to the one in the Des Moines Art Center. I included this image to give you an idea of LeWitt’s conceptual style and obsession with the geometric system and the variety of interpretation.
Sontag, S. (1973, October 18). Photography. The New York Times Review of Books, p. Volume 20.
1 comment:
From Ralph -
I hope the realization that you hadn't yet selected a piece to analyze didn't take away from the joy of wandering around and letting the images wash over you. This - as you describe it - is the museum/gallery experience the way it should be. Nice post, with good use of Sontag.
By the way, you are aware of the LeWitt in the lobby of this building, right?
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