Conceptual Art (Themes & Movements) Reprint Edition published by Phaidon Press

by Peter Osborne

Conceptual art is an art of ideas which can be written, enacted or carried in your head, challenging the notion that a work of art is an object of visual pleasure. This text combines survey essays, key words, descriptions and an anthology of key texts.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Art History

Paperback

First published June 24, 2002

About the author

Peter Osborne is Professor of Modern European Philosophy and Director of the Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy (CRMEP), Kingston University London and was appointed Visiting Professor of Critical Studies at Yale in 2017. From 1983 to 2016, he was an editor of the British journal Radical Philosophy. He has contributed to a range of international journals (including Art History, Cultural Studies, New German Critique, New Left Review, October, Telos and Texte zur Kunst) and to the catalogues of major art institutions (including Manifesta 5, Tate Modern, Biennale of Sydney, Walker Art Center Minneapolis, Office of Contemporary Art Norway, National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design Oslo, CGAC in Santiago de Compostela, and Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León.)
He has recently held Visiting International Chairs in the Philosophy Department at the University of Paris 8 (2012 & 2014) and in ‘Philosophy in the Context of Art’ at the Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm (2015).
His books include The Politics of Time: Modernity and Avant-Garde (1995; 2011), Philosophy in Cultural Theory (2000), Conceptual Art (2002), Marx (2005), El arte mas alla de la estetica: ensayos filosoficos sobre el arte contemporaneo (2010), Anywhere or Not at All: Philosophy of Contemporary Art (2013) and The Postconceptual Condition (2018).

Reviews

[Lorenzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A handy encyclopedia of conceptual art since it's beginnings, describing the major contributors to this current supported by photos throughout.
The format of the book is particularly pleasant, and the size of it allows for a proper overview of the artistic current, that doesn't leave crucial, if not well known, artists out.
A comprehensive, inspiring reading I m glad I took the time for, and to which I may go back for references later on

[Mark Nangle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this marvel of a book. Peter Osborne! Your preface and role as editor is outstanding. The book is so comprehensive and generous in its scholarship. Phaidon must be incredibly proud. Take a bow!

[Byatt Wurns · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very thorough book. It gives the reader an overview section, a selection of conceptual works with their context, and lastly a selection of writings.

The survey/overview I found very hard to read, but this is because it is very technical and the ideas are analyzed closely and well. This is of no fault of the author.

An incredible book that keeps on giving. I can't fault it myself.

[Mayu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy buen libro introductorio sobre arte conceptual, con un formato cómodo que permite la reproducción de fotografías en buen tamaño (aunque algunas son demasiaaado pequeñas para mi gusto).
La selección de obras es interesante y bastante diversa, con epígrafes concretos y útiles. Osborne toma una posición intermedia y flexible sobre qué considera arte conceptual, posibilitando la inclusión de artistas comúnmente excluidos del canon y a la vez evitando caer en la sobreabundancia. (¡Se aprecia la inclusión de artistas de color y artistas feministas!).

Artistas mujeres mencionadas en el libro:
Hilla Becher
Sophie Calle
Judy Chicago
Lygia Clark
Jeanne-Claude
Margaret Harrison
Eva Hesse
Susan Hiller
Jenny Holzer
Kay Hunt
Mary Kelly
Christine Kozlov
Barbara Kruger
Shigeko Kubota
Louise Lawler
Sherrie Levine
Ana Mendieta
Yoko Ono
Adrian Piper
Martha Rosler
Mieko Shiomi
Fujiko Shiraga
Mierle Laderman Ukeles
Hannah Wilke