In this paper I consider the relationship between beauty and conceptual art, evaluating the idea of the dematerialisation of the artistic object and the increase of expressiveness that conceptualists can achieve by using materials to convey ideas and/or actions. My aim is indeed to show that the beauty of conceptual art is the beauty of what artists do, and that our first reference to appreciate it is exactly the materials they use. After presenting the relationship between conceptual art and beauty, and having introduced some aspects of the latter, I investigate the question of form. This is a pivotal issue that will be addressed in two ways: in the light of Denis Diderot’s relational conception of beauty and by proposing to overcome the notion of dematerialisation through that of the concrete expression.
The Beauty of Doing: Remarks on the Appreciation of Conceptual Art
Davide Dal Sasso
2019-01-01
Abstract
In this paper I consider the relationship between beauty and conceptual art, evaluating the idea of the dematerialisation of the artistic object and the increase of expressiveness that conceptualists can achieve by using materials to convey ideas and/or actions. My aim is indeed to show that the beauty of conceptual art is the beauty of what artists do, and that our first reference to appreciate it is exactly the materials they use. After presenting the relationship between conceptual art and beauty, and having introduced some aspects of the latter, I investigate the question of form. This is a pivotal issue that will be addressed in two ways: in the light of Denis Diderot’s relational conception of beauty and by proposing to overcome the notion of dematerialisation through that of the concrete expression.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
