Verbivocovisual: Art as Discourse and the Place of Criticism

• In Event: The Expansion of the Arts I: Conceptualism

Abstract

NewYork-based conceptual artist Joseph Kosuth wrote in 1970 that “Conceptual art annexes the function of the critic and makes the middle-man unnecessary.” Almost fifty years later, artistic practices around the globe continue to blur the boundaries between the visual and verbal realms; however, contrary to the radical predictions of the 1960s and 1970s, the art object has not disappeared and criticism continues to occupy a crucial position in the discourse of the visual arts. The growing body of scholarship on art and aesthetics by scholars trained in literary analysis has contributed yet another layer of complexity to this question. Among other things, the words of artists and critics acquire a new weight and significance, side-by-side with the visual discourses of painting, sculpture, and installation art. My presentation borrows the notion of a verbivocovisual space of communication conceived by Brazilian concrete poets Haroldo de Campos, Augusto de Campos, and Décio Pignatari to theorize art as discourse and explore the role significance of art criticism within contemporary artistic practice.

Author

• Pedro R Erber, Cornell University