Kazuo Misaki
POST MINIMAL ART, AND "CONCEPT=IMAGE"Date:July 21,2001 Prepared by : KAZUO MISAKI
For illusion, after developing the minimal art, how plane-painting artists have painted with what thinking or with what consciousness on matters. As a matter of fact, during the age commencing from the latter half of 1960s to the first half of 1970s, the minimal art and conceptual art are art phenomena occurred simultaneously and substantially in U.S.A., but they are not a lot of moving bodies. In this case, however, the full-fledged radicalism shown in the above arts are now exerting great influences upon the worldwide art scenes. As Mr. CLEMENT GREENBURG a prominent U.S. art critic, says "Be thoroughly conscious of the peculiar elements of paintings, that is, be aware of plane-painting-oriented arts", as well as he says "[Towards the new Laocoon], the purity in the art means to accept the limit of the medium of art,and duly to accept it with a pleasure". In other words, purification for the creation is beginning, where a clue might be recognized for the development of the minimal art. The peculiar element of paintings is featured by a plainness. After accepting this plainness, and by tracing it thoroughly, the purification act would be originated and impure elements have been eliminated from the arts successfully. In other words, the illusiveness, recursion of nature, mentality, imaginariness, narrative, mythology, symbolism, passionateness, lyriciam were represented by impure elements, as well as the desire, feeling, and even though image were also represented by impure elements, and then, they have been all removed from the arts. According to the abovementioned purification act, the sensitive and imaginary elementa were eliminated, and then, the purification act is approaching to viewable matters (works of art). Then, by taking away symbolic, imaginary and multivocal-matters, the organic connection with world has been thus disconnected. On the other hand, what we see becomes a mentality. In practice, this shows the relationship between the matter and mentality which is peculiar to contemporary arts where the image and consciousness remembered from the viewable works of art are thrown aimlessly into what we see. A look towards the purification of the minimal art would be a posture in which arts are observable in the value judgment of science. For example, this might be an attitude in which the object of a picture is objectively analyzed as a fixed idea, and then, the object would be purified substantially. Accordingly, it was natural that arts advance towards the direction where conception is intensified than image, as well as theory is intensified than imagination. Then the minimal art and conceptual art were conceptualized and theorized, as well as the image and imaginative power were excluded. As a result, the minimal art and conceptual art have gained a victory with their universality, and thus, they have expanded internationally. In the course of the universality, the image provided with the art was conceptualized and abstracted until it will become the "Image=Concept". In this way, as shown in the minimal art and conceptual art, whenever they are largely collapsed in the direction where the image is sent out the conceptual thought or scientific thought appeared, and thus, the image has been dismantled. In other worbs, from the abovemenetioned "Image=Concept" to the superiority of the "Concept" over others in the thinking of the art, the art has been reexamined. In this way, too much scientific thought has entered into the art, and as a result, the art has been led to the "Concept" superior and rich direction. These minimal art and conceptual art were featured by universality and strictness. However, the vitality and charm of these arts soon have become poor. In addition, the relationship of these arts with the world was minimized and parted, resulting in the missing of the original radical purification act, as well as the creative act itself has been lost. In this case, however, these arts were arts which accurately reflect upon the looking of our presnt age society featured by the scientific thought deviation. In this meaning, these arts can be said the arts which are provided with due values. We wonder that the arts can be revived again after obtaining a vitality from them. If it is possible, what shall we do. We think that first by connecting the conceptualized arts again with the image, we should restore and revive the arts. A method according to the scientific thought has accelerated the purification of arts. However, the minimized and parted motions of these arts have diminished the close relationship with the world. The arts are, first of all, must closely connected with the world, as well as must conform to miscellaneous live rhythms after objectivizing the human desire and feelings. While the minimal art and conceptual art are in the course of a purification route, various impure elements which have been already cut down must be revived under the above view point of the arts, as well as the imaginative entireness of arts must be restored as a new painting. Furthermors, its starting point exists in the daily necessity as a source of vitality that naturally includes the image and concept. In this way, we would like to shift the concept priority art direction towards the "Concept=Image" direction. In the 1980s, the "New Painting" art which had been generated in New York showed the tendency of a change of direction in the arts towards the "Concept=Image" direction popularized in the unconscious class. In relationship with the plainness and materiality, the "New Painting" have followed the influence of the minimal art. Then the illusions, mythology, narrations, symbols and passions, that is, the applicable elements of the desires and feelings have been revived under the phase of respective usualness (mythologization and historicalness) , and then, the imaginative entireness of arts have been restored as a new painting. In other words, the "New Painting" art may be represented by an antithesis used against the vitality-lost and parted minimal art and conceptual art, and then, the "New Painting" art was useful to more directly connect us with the world and to restore the imaginative entireness of arts followed by the successful conformance to the miscellaneous live rhythms. After that, these tendencies were expanded downward to each area in the world and now developing extensively containing the versatility of dissimilar cultures relating with the structuralism. This means that the arts will advance in the "Concept=Image" direction as a whole. (NOTE1) "The Present Status of Philosophy" P33 It is said that everything containing in cursedness and in mythology is represented by "Images". For example, people say "A thunder is a god thunderbolt and is the act of the heavenly thunder god". In general, people lived in the primitive age or ancient age always had uneasiness and fear against incomprehensible and mysterious matters surrounding around their world. As the "Image", those people are provided with visible and known from experienced matters, as well as supported by concrete matters. Next, it is also said whenever "Philosophy (art)" traces the universality route, the "Image" will connect with a "Concept" which will be practically dismantled, and then, it will become the "Image=Concept". In other words, the philosophical dynamism has been developed from the "Image", to the "Image=Concept" and further to the "Concept". On this occasion, if the influence of the scientific thought is examined, in the case of the art, we wonder practically the same thought might be thinkable in the art. Accordingly, the next development of the art may entrust to the "Concept=Image".
(NOTE2) This argument is based upon the literary written by Mr.YUJIRO NAKAMURA, a Philosopher.
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