Sol LeWitt
Connected to the Conceptual and Minimalist art movements of the 1960s and '70s, artist and theorist Sol LeWitt was a pivotal figure in driving idea art into the mainstream art discourse. Using a prescription to direct the creation of a work, the artist's hand subordinated to the artist's thoughts, in direct contrast to the Abstract Expressionist movement earlier in the century. Actions, forms, and adjectives were broken down into terms, serially repeated, and reconfigured: grids, lines, shapes, colour, directions and starting points are several examples. These directives and constructs fueled an influential career of vast variety, subtlety and progression.
“ When an artist uses a conceptual form of art…the planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair. The idea becomes the machine that makes the art. „
