Conceptual Art Lawrence Weiner
I recently completed this deep dive into the artist Lawrence Weiner as part of an art class I am participating in. I have included it here in case anyone is interested.
Lawrence Weiner NY sculptor
American artist (1942–2021) +
Artist statement
1 AN ARTIST MAY CONSTRUCT A WORK
2 A WORK MAY BE FABRICATED
3 A WORK NEED NOT BE BUILT
Kistefos
A BRANCH BENT TO THE POINT OF SNAPPING
A TWIG CRUSHED TO DUST UNDERFOOT
BRICK & MORTAR USED TO FORM A DAM
TO INTERRUPT THE FLOW OF A WATERWAY
2018
LANGUAGE + THE MATERIALS REFERRED TO
Presented in signature “ Margaret Seaworthy Gothic” type.
Clear blue text on whitewashed walls of a discarded industrial pulp and paper mill remnant structures.
In its Kistefos expression the sculpture questions the long term impacts of nature being harnessed, exploited and subsequently abandoned. Is the ‘point of snapping' referencing the energy eruption as the ecological tipping point is transgressed? To interrupt the flow of a waterway ? Is this a reference to how we exploit nature for our gain, with a disregard for the inevitable consequences of the disruption?
Wearner says
“ Art should offer a way of looking at the world. If you bend a branch too far, it snaps. If you dam a river , it floods. These aren't metaphors - they’re facts”
The artist states that his sculptures are not site specific and the order of the sentences are not important.
TO INTERRUPT THE FLOW OF A WATERWAY
BRICK & MORTAR USED TO FORM A DAM
A BRANCH BENT TO THE POINT OF SNAPPING
A TWIG CRUSHED TO DUST UNDERFOOT
“Weiner's statements are always presented in very precise language. This Precision, this Simplicity. paradoxically lends itself to layers of complexity and carries with its future Endless Possibilities. It is this very open-endedness that provides us with a constantly contemporary experience. “ Erica Baum
A couple of sources
Artists on Artists Lecture Series - Erica Baum on Lawrence Weiner
SCAD deFINE ART 2019 honoree talk with Lawrence Weiner
Laurence Winer offers out an invitation to participate in a community sculpture building workshop. At the end of the workshop the participants are welcome to take their work home.
June 2025
My challenge as a jewellery maker is how do I interpret the work of the conceptual artist's into my jewellery design. I think the take away from here is the idea of reducing an idea to an empirical statement , so it invites the wearer of an object to find meaning for themselves if test is used as I have done in a number of my jewellery designs. The other big takeaway here is the invite for a viewer to take the idea of the art work home with them , so instead of buying the jewellery item, somehow just interacting with it is enough. I see this in my Nelson market stall. The experience viewers get just by seeing and interacting with my range of jewellery. Part of the show,,,