Modernism and Conceptual Art - Thesis Example

The essay "Modernism and Conceptual Art" discusses relationships between modernism and conceptual art. Conceptual art is widely regarded to have begun in the ‘dada’ movement that occurred in Switzerland, Germany, France, America, and other countries during the early 20th Century. Dada artists like Marcel Duchamp enshrined urinals on pedestals, signing them with an alias in parody of the authoritative time stamp and signature which was already equated with monetary value in the fame or status driven art, gallery, and collectibles trade at the time.

Similarly, Rene Magritte famously inscribed “Ceci n'est pas une pipe” across a painting of a pipe, to inspire many who studied art to question the nature of artistic representation in an era where formal abstract painting was being developed as a valid method of self-expression. In the modern perception of the artist, his or her personal views, theories, conflicts, psychology, and philosophy of life are all assumed to be summarized and expressed through the process of art, completely or in fragments, creating objects of appreciation with symbolic social messages and embodying a personal commitment to an aesthetic, beauty or truth.

Yet, the viewer or audience may ultimately interpret a work outside of its original intended context, just as art history elevates some artists and themes to make them canonical, collectible, valuable, and teachable on a social level of shared subjectivities. Conceptual Art is inherently critical.