Transformed Text in Postwar Conceptual Art: Language to Be Looked at

摘要

Text-art has been heavily criticized for its immateriality and lack of image, and is said to have contributed to the dematerialization of the art object. It is my argument, however, that the way that these texts perform in postwar conceptual art indicates otherwise. It is through the operations of transformation that the text of postwar conceptual art is able to challenge these claims as they force us to address the text as more than just language to be read. Through the analysis of transformed text-art, I will be able to demonstrate that these works require a reconsideration of materiality and call attention to the movement and command of space inherent in a medium that has traditionally been considered as static and immaterial.