Hyperessay Artist Selection : Vincent Houze

 

 

 

 

Vincent Houzé uses modern computer graphics techniques to create interactive art, performances, and large-scale multimedia installations. His practice centers on dynamic simulations and systems in which simple rules give rise to complexity, richness, and realistic motion in his work.

Houzé was born and raised in Paris, where he studied computer science and graphic design. Before embracing interactive art he has worked in Paris and London as a visual effects designer for films, commercials, and video games. He now lives and work in New York, where he was previously a member at NEW INC, the New Museum incubator for art and technology. Houzé’s recent work was exhibited among others in the last editions of the Day for Night Festival in Houston, at Google I/O 2017, and has been featured in a number of online magazines such as the Creators Project and Creative Applications Network.

 

Written Essay : Neoconceptualism

First, it was Cubism, then later was Conceptual Art, that had challenged the practices and the nature of what art is perceived. The first major rejection or breakthrough of art practices was initiated by Pablo Picasso, inspiring generations of artist forming new movements within the realms of unrealistic paintings. Amidst the evolution of the art movement with progressive absurdity in their ideas and convention, constantly challenging the rules of art, gave birth to three-dimensional art, later known as conceptual art in the coming years. Neo conceptualism was simply an evolution and revival of conceptual art itself, and today presented as contemporary art.

 

Even though Conceptual art ended in the 1970s, it has never ceased to exist, there are artists whom still practice making conceptual pieces. This includes a member of the Young British Artist, notably Damien Hirst as one of its members, spark the revival of conceptual art, which was term as Neo(post) Conceptualism afterwards.

 

It wasn’t a sudden inspiration that utilization three – dimensional object, instead of a painting, is presented as art. Rather, it was a slowly escalated common direction of the art world itself towards interpreting art differently since the creation of Cubism, where art practices and norms are constantly challenged. Inevitably, three dimension objects will someday be used to convey meaning.

 

Previously, since World War One, Duchamp and his peers questioned the purpose of art and that inspired their approach of breaking of creative boundaries in art practices. That inspiration drove Marcel Duchamp creating alternative art, which later he founded DADA. Before the establishment of DADA, he created the first ever three-dimensional art in the art world, known as Fountain. It was originally posed as a challenge for his broad members for rejecting his mixed genre Cubist and Futurism artwork, Nude Descending A Stair Case, No.2, for not being Cubist enough. However, such an incident not only made him felt frustrated with the rules of art, but it also inspired him to create art more differently. The fountain was presented in the “unjuried” Society of Independent Artists’ salon in New York. It wasn’t just a showcase of his frustration, the creation of Fountain was his continual pursuit of breaking even more boundaries of art, to recreate meaning and experiences, and defining it through his approach of making art away from traditional medium. As such, he turned to purchase a urinal from a sanitary ware supplier and submitted it – or arranged for it to be submitted – as an artwork by ‘R. Mutt’. He rotated the urinal, to allow the significance of the function and meaning of a urinal, to disappear under the new art title and point of view. This decontextualizes the meaning. The meaning change based on changing the position, and a new-found interpretation of using a known object. That became the practice of conceptual art, where the visual appearance does not matter, what matters is the meaning behind the object. Therefore, so long you can explain why you placed a dustbin in an art gallery, it is art.

 

The creation of the urinal was a test once again to the art world in the 1920s, on their commitment to breaking new rules of art. That establishes the practice of DADAism.

 

Another example of conceptual art of Duchamp includes Bicycle Wheel in 1913. Using a bicycle wheel and a kitchen stool creates a nonfunctional machine. The wheel serves for travel, yet embedded with a steel rod on a chair, it strips away the functions of both items. It was a completely random idea, and almost impossible to link the meaning of the fusion of both objects. Duchamp denied the creation of it purposeful or meaningful, but it was simply created because he enjoyed looking at the wheels turn. That he called art.

 

Artist creating conceptual art rejected the idea of being labelled as a movement, they see themselves as individuals and creating art based on their own interpretation. Creating conceptual art can only be interpreted as following only a common direction rather than a theme or group. Although they hold similar philosophy, labelling them as a movement defeat the purpose of doing conceptual art as it contradicts the nature of freeness in conveying art.

 

Moving on to some other examples of modern conceptual art. The very first example was the recent incident where Banksy destroyed his own artwork after it was being sold in the Auction for 1.4million USD. His motive quoted from Picasso “the urge to destroy is also a creative urge”. It holds similarity to the attempt of Marcel Duchamp interpretation of his art using a urinal. It does include an element of shock factor yet shredding his own artwork to portray the meaning he was trying to convey is another approach of how can be shown to the audience.  There were many speculations as to if it was a conspiracy of shooting the value of the artwork upwards, but putting that aside, it is a method of execution of using anything to express the meaning of one’s artwork that makes conceptual art unique, from traditional practices of doing art.

 

Another example of a conceptual artwork is Damien Hirst “A Thousand Years”. It is a showcase of life and death, and the fragility of life itself. Although life and death are opposition, they are part of the cycle of life. When standing outside the glass and looking into the artwork, the audience can feel like a higher entity. One can immediately felt the sorrow and even the shortness of being alive. With a minimal rectilinear form and transparent glass, it places the emphasis of the objects that are within the installation. The usage of real-life insects makes the art piece hyperrealistic and accurately interpreted the meaning and cycle of life.

 

To sum it up, conceptual art now is anything. The way I look it, conceptual art breaks all boundaries, it has no limits, even a prank can be interpreted as art. The only thing you need is an idea and a way to execute your ideas and bring it to life, and you can be a conceptual artist.