Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with conceptualart

Recommend me some pseudo-scientific art please.

SebastianKnight — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 12:31:14 -0800

Looking for examples of artists using scientific, sociological, mathematical, ethnographic, or psychological devices in their practice. Bonus points for funny. I'm in the (very) early stages of planning an art piece and I'm looking for some inspiration and context. I'm casting a wide net, so give me whatever you can - I'll narrow down my focus as the project takes shape. If you can be fairly specific you'll save me some legwork - artists' names, specific works etc. If you suggest a movement in the arts please try to narrow it down a little bit - 'conceptualism' is far, far too broad, for example.

Don't limit yourself to the above categories - I'm grateful for anything tangentially related.

(By way of example, Sophie Calle and Gillian Wearing have both used pseudo-social-science in their practice. I'm tempted even to include something like Throwing four balls... by Baldessari, but that one's a bit of a stretch. I've heard a little about map-based psychogeographic works like The Shipping Forecast and 26 Different Endings by Mark Power, but they don't particularly interest me.)

Thank you!

Breaking into Performance Art

divabat — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 03:45:01 -0800

How do I get into performance art? I've seen this video series and read some links, and find the concept of performance art interesting. However, I'm finding it hard to get more resources and help on breaking into performance art.

Whenever I try asking people about it, they think I'm asking about performing arts and start referring me to theatres and choirs. (Google does the exact same thing.) Trying to describe performance art is tricky too - "well, they do weird stuff. In all sorts of styles. And it has a concept."

I have plenty of ideas for potential performance art, but I don't know how to start putting them together. I'm worried about seeming wanky or pretentious, when really all I want to do is express myself in a mixture of mediums. (A large part of this involves creating a persona, which is also another hard subject to Google - I keep getting stuff about MPD or superheroes.)

How do I find a teacher to guide me? What resources are out there and how do I find them (without getting stuck into the Performing Arts section)? How can I develop myself and my art? How do I get my ideas out of my head and onto...well, whatever my stage happens to be?