Ian Wilson (artist)
Ian Wilson (born 1940 in Durban , South Africa ; † April 14, 2020 in Queens , New York) was a South African - American conceptual artist who lived in New York City .
life and work
Ian Wilson was born in South Africa in 1940 and lived in New York. He worked temporarily at Art & Language .
Wilson first enrolled in the Art Student's League in New York and painted figurative painting. 1968 Wilson realized his last sculpture, Chalk Circle and made the (difficult) word "Time / Time " as its new theme. He describes his work as "oral communication" or as a "discussion".
"I present oral communication as an object, [...] all art is information and communication. I've chosen to speak rather than sculpt. I've freed art from a specific place. It's now possible for everyone. I'm diametrically opposed to the precious object. My art is not visual, but visualized. "
Ian Wilson went further in the dematerialization of art than other artists of his time such as Lawrence Weiner , Joseph Kosuth and Robert Barry . He presented oral communication as the actual object and thus freed art from both tangible material and a contextual place. The spoken speech defies any tangibility and becomes the epitome of non-visual abstraction. At the artist's express request, the conversations were never recorded and published. Only a certificate signed by the artist stating the time, place and participants in a conversation, which mostly took place in museums or galleries, could be purchased. In 1986 Wilson began to devote himself to the printed language and series of artist books such as "The Set of 25 Sections: 90-114, with Absolute Knowledge" emerged.
“Since artistic ideas are freely available, a pure art of ideas puts the price-driving cult around the unique work of art out of course. Ian Wilson's idea of "oral communication" does not seem to be exploitable in the art trade. Unless someone entschlösse itself, an appropriate for a conversation with Ian Wilson mite to pay. The dealer would then have the role of impresario who, for a fee, would have to organize the appointments for the oral communication attempts. Some gallery owners have already accepted the challenge of concept art. They benefit from the fact that not all artists use such a brittle medium (language) in terms of marketing as Ian Wilson. The idea systems of other artists are usually reflected in descriptions, sketches, photos or films and are therefore usable as goods for the trade. Two essential differences to traditional works of art remain: The fixations of conceptual art are only traces of an artistic thought process that is only realized in the mind of the respective recipient. On the other hand, they can be published with the help of mass communication media, book, newspaper, film and television. This turns the art dealer into a publisher. Its function: conveying concepts. "
Ian Wilson was not only invited to epochal exhibitions of conceptual art or to Lucy Lippard's information in the Museum of Modern Art , but he also took part in documenta 7 in Kassel in 1982 . He was considered one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, even if he was little known by the public.
literature
- Time: A Panel Discussion, Art International, Vol 13, November 1969 by Lucy Lippard
- Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object from 1966 to 1972 by Lucy Lippard, 1973
Individual evidence
- ↑ Catalog: documenta 7 Kassel ; Vol. 1: (visual biographies of the artists); Vol. 2: (Current works of the artists); S. 182, Kassel 1982 ISBN 3-920453-02-6
- ↑ Catrin Lorch: Ian Wilson died. Retrieved April 27, 2020 .
- ↑ Frieze, Edward Allington About Time ( Memento of the original from August 9, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. accessed on May 17, 2015
- ^ Center for Art and Media Technology Ian Wilson in conversation with the audience, accessed on May 17, 2015
- ↑ Van Abbemuseum Ian Wilson- plug in # 47 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. accessed on May 17, 2015
- ^ Zeit online June 4th, 1971, Klaus Honnef Who buys ideas? Retrieved May 17, 2015
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wilson, Ian |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | South African-American conceptual artist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1940 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Durban , South Africa |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 14, 2020 |
| Place of death | Queens , New York |