© R. Cumming

Conceptual Art

Conceptual art is based on an idea such as a text, mathematical equation, or activity. It can include words, drawings, photographs, sculpture, video, performance, or installation. Conceptualism emerged during the 1960s and ’70s and is now fundamental to contemporary art. It grants artists permission to pursue ideas in every imaginable form.

  • The image shows rows of upright boots arranged in a linear pattern on the sidewalk. The boots are aligned in front of a building, with a backdrop of the building facade, plants, and flags.
  • This print is a rectangular piece of paper with several lines of typed text. The background of the card is plain beige, and the black text is aligned to the left.
  • The image shows a street scene with dramatic clouds in the sky, captured from a low angle. Buildings and structures, including a Kmart store, a "Snappy PHOTO" sign, and a Goodwill donation bin, are visible. Wires run diagonally across the scene, while the color palette is mainly gray. Light and shadow create contrast in the composition, hinting at an approaching storm.
  • The image displays a series of vertical lines with varying intensity. The lines create an abstract pattern, which resembles bars of a music visualizer or strings of a harp. They are closely spaced and blend into shades of gray and white. The vertical lines suggest a textured barcode or blurred rain against a window. The image consists of subtle gradients, forming a metallic appearance, resembling brushed steel or the visual representation of sound waves fading in and out.
  • The installation is a vertical sculpture on a wooden floor aligned with the wall. At the bottom, there is a textured cluster. The sculpture is predominantly silver with a slightly reflective surface. It has a linear design contrasting with the smooth white wall behind it, while the bottom has an organic, irregular form. The setting is minimalist, accentuating the sculpture's verticality and texture.
  • This is a photograph of a wall with a text-based artwork. The artwork features large, bold blue letters on a plain white wall forming a message. The message reads: "MANY THINGS PLACED HERE + THERE TO FORM A PLACE CAPABLE OF SHELTERING MANY OTHER THINGS PUT HERE + THERE." The text is organized into six lines with "HERE + THERE" repeated for emphasis. The design is minimalistic, focusing on the textual element against a white background. Wooden flooring is visible at the bottom of the image, indicating the location is likely a gallery or museum space.
  • This is a collection of ten panels placed diagonally on a deep blue wall, each with a text block above or below them. They start at the top left corner of the wall and travel down to the bottom right corner. Each panel appears to be made of twenty-eight black-and-white photographs in four rows of seven. They all appear to show a curving shape that gets slightly larger in each photograph; the shapes are the smallest in the top left panel and the largest in the bottom right panel.
  • This image shows red rectangular shapes painted on a white wall. The arrangement consists of four rectangles that are evenly spaced out. Three are of a similar size, while the one to the right of center is much smaller. Three are solid red, while the rectangle on the far right is a red outline. The rectangles appear to have words written inside them, such as "at in," "over in," and "at out."
  • The image shows a grid of four square sections bordered by metallic lines that form a cross shape in the center. The composition features forms resembling body parts integrated into the corners and edges of the grid segments. In the top left square, a shape curls around the edge. In the bottom left square, a similar object protrudes. The right side of the grid displays other body part-like shapes. The use of fragmented body parts juxtaposed with geometric frames creates an interplay between organic forms and rigid structure.
  • A fine but dense, layered web of blue, red, yellow, and black hair-thin lines fill a white surface in this horizontal work of art.

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A composite of Michael Vinson's oil painting portraits of Herbert Vogel and Dorothy Vogel

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In this black-and-white photograph, five children sit closely together on a couch, reading different comic books and magazines. The comic books obscure the faces of the five children, and they appear absorbed in their reading. A sixth child who appears to be a young boy sits on the ground in front of the couch next to a coffee table piled high with dirty dishes and more comic books. His face is partially visible; he has light skin and dark hair, and he looks over his shoulder to the right. The children wear a variety of clothing with different patterns, including long-sleeved shirts, dresses, belts, and long pants. The wall behind the couch is light gray, with the edge of a framed photo visible at the top.

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The backs of two splayed hands, palms down with one coming down from the top and one up from the bottom, nearly fill this vertical photograph and are shown lightly entwined in a field of dark fabric. The image is monochromatic like a black and white photograph but is printed in tones of golden and dark brown. The thumb of the left hand, coming up from the bottom, points upward so the fingers splay elegantly to our left. The forefinger and thumb touch to hold a needle stitching the dark fabric. The right hand comes down to our right and almost touches the left hand. The index finger is bent under at the first knuckle, and the ring and pinkie fingers gently curve downward into the fabric. The middle finger extends straight and is capped with a shiny thimble, which nearly touches the thumb of the opposite hand. The skin on the hands and wrists is smooth and the photograph is lightly blurred, creating the impression of a patina. The folds of the gathered fabric create a shadowy pinwheel effect.

Photography 

Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre was the first to permanently record an image using light in 1837. His daguerreotype changed the way we consume images. Many innovations like stereographic photographs and tintypes would follow but it was George Eastman’s invention of the Kodak film camera in 1888 that made cameras widely available.

The image shows a classical-style building with a large dome and columns, depicted from a perspective view. The structure resembles the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. The building is centered in the composition, with the sky taking up a significant portion of the scene. Detailed pencil work with shading highlights the grandeur and symmetry of the architecture. The color scheme is mainly gray and beige, giving a timeless feel. Trees and small figures are subtly included in the landscape, enhancing the depth and scale.

Architecture

Artists often depict the built environment. We can visit some of the world’s most magnificent buildings and architectural innovations through artworks.