Mario Merz CHE FARE?  1968

Conceptual artists across the world questioned the idea of art and sought to enlarge its scope. They reimagined the possibilities of art through the sociopolitical realities within which they were living. The art form's relative informality made it attractive to artists who yearned for a more direct engagement with the public during these intense, transformative periods that gave rise to student unrest, civil wars, economic shifts, and government coups. Thus, idea-based art assumed the role of catalyst, as a stand-in for forbidden or censored speech and as a vehicle for dissent. Conceptualism broke a state's or a regime's stranglehold on the display of "acceptable" art: it was easier to slip by the censors, and exhibitions could be organized quickly and informally among artists, circumventing both official and market structures.

Lygla Clark DIALOGO   1966

With this "dematerialization" of the art object, the use of language came to the fore. Language promised an open space where art could intersect with other fields and bring art and artists into a more vital conversation with society. Conceptual art has been among the most accommodating of art movements, open to disciplines as diverse as linguistics, philosophy, sociology, ethics, logic, theater, history, political science, music, Eastern religions, and poetry. Its interdisciplinary nature, along with its political face, gives conceptualism its particular character and cultural significance.

Wu Shan Zhuan RED HUMOR: BIG CHARACTERS, SWEARING 1987

Cildo Meireles INSERCOES EM CIRCUITOS IDEOLOGICOS: PROYECTO CEDULA 1973

CONCEPTUALIST FILM SCREENINGS
THURSDAYS, JANUARY 6-27, 7 PM FREE
In conjunction with the exhibition, several rare conceptual works will be screened, including Hollis Frampton's Zorns Lemma (1970) on January 6, Michael Snow's Wavelength (1966-1967) on January 13, a selection of short films by Marcel Broodthaers on January 20, and Mike Parr and Peter Kennedy's Idea Demonstrations (1972) on January 27.

OPENING-DAY CURATOR'S TOUR
WHAT IS CONCEPTUALIST ART?
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2 PM
Walk through the galleries with Walker exhibition curator Anastasia Shartin to discover what conceptual art really is and how artists from around the globe have used ideas inspired by their worlds as the impetus for their creative output. Reception follows.

IN THE WALKER SHOPS
The 280-page, illustrated exhibition catalogue Global Conceptualism: Points of Origin, 1950s -1980s includes essays by the curators as well as cultural historian Stephen Bann and art critic Apinan Poshynanda. $35 ($31.50 Walker members).

GLOBAL CONCEPTUALISM: POINTS OF ORIGIN, 1950s-1980s WAS ORGANIZED BY THE QUEENS MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK. HEADED BY PROJECT LEADERS JANE FARVER, FORMER QUEENS MUSEUM OF ART DIRECTOR OF EXHIBITIONS; LUIS CAMNITZER, ARTIST AND PROFESSOR AT SUNY OLD WESTBURY; AND RACHEL WEISS, CURATOR AND PROFESSOR AT THE SCHOOL OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO. EXHIBITION PLANNING WAS DONE IN CONCERT WITH A TEAM OF 11 INTERNATIONAL CURATORS: CHIBA SHIGEO AND REIKO TOMII (JAPAN), CLAUDE GINTZ (WESTERN EUROPE), LÁSZLÓ BEKE (EASTERN EUROPE), MARI CARMEN RAMÍREZ (LATIN AMERICA), PETER WOLLEN (NORTH AMERICA), TERRY SMITH (AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND), OKWUI ENWEZOR (AFRICA), MARGARITA TUPITSYN (RUSSIA), SUNG WAN-KYUNG (SOUTH KOREA), AND GAO MINGLU (MAINLAND CHINA, TAIWAN, AND HONG KONG). MAJOR SUPPORT FOR THE EXHIBITION AND CATALOGUE WAS PROVIDED BY AT&T, LANNAN FOUNDATION, THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION, THE ANDY WARHOL FOUNDATION FOR THE VISUAL ARTS, AND A CONSORTIUM OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE FUNDERS.