Harvard Art Museums > 1979.433: Titled (Art as Idea as Idea), [Society] Prints Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Add to Collection Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Titled (Art as Idea as Idea), [Society] (Joseph Kosuth) , 1979.433,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 27, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/351898. Gallery Text In the 1960s conceptual art emerged as a tendency loosely defined by a focus on ideas and the process of production. For many conceptual artists, Marcel Duchamp’s readymades — everyday objects he designated as works of art — served as a point of departure. Taking up Duchamp’s denouncements of “retinal art” — art that appealed mainly to the eye — Kosuth employed language as his primary medium. The Art as Idea as Idea series embodies his proposition that after the readymade, the only task left to artists was to analyze the nature of art rather than create objects. Kosuth made these works by enlarging the definitions of words he clipped from a dictionary and reproducing them using Photostat, an early form of photocopying. Each piece includes a certificate of ownership, which verifies the holder’s right to reproduce the work according to Kosuth’s specifications. The project proposes that artistic skill lies not in manual dexterity, but in concept. Identification and Creation Object Number 1979.433 People Joseph Kosuth, American (Toledo, OH born 1945) Title Titled (Art as Idea as Idea), [Society] Classification Prints Work Type print Date 1968 Culture American Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/351898 Location Location Level 1, Room 1100, Modern and Contemporary Art, The Sixties Experiment/Multiple Strategies View this object's location on our interactive map Physical Descriptions Medium Photostat mounted on board Dimensions original Photostat: 121.9 x 121.9 cm (48 x 48 in.) Provenance Recorded Ownership History Beldock Levine & Hoffman, New York, gift; to Fogg Art Museum, 1979. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Beldock Levine & Hoffman through the generosity of Elliot L. Hoffman Copyright © Joseph Kosuth/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Accession Year 1979 Object Number 1979.433 Division Modern and Contemporary Art Contact am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Exhibition History 32Q: 1100 60’s Experiment, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 04/07/2025; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050 Related Works 1979.433.2 Joseph Kosuth Photostat received in 1979 for "Titled (Art as Idea as Idea), [Society]" Prints Verification Level This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Modern and Contemporary Art at am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu
