Conceptualisms (Updated November 2022)

There is a paradigm shift coming in the creation of visual artwork. We are rapidly moving from the traditional mode of image capture through chemical or digital means to the process of simply using words to convey a visual representation of those words. The visual expressions are constructed from a set of written instructions. No camera was involved in the making of the imagery.

Updated AI engine image November 2022

American artist Sol LeWitt wrote about such ideas in 1967: “ In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work. When an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all of the planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair. The idea becomes a machine that makes the art.”

In this case if you have the correct instructions, and the right tool, then your artwork would be similar in end result. It is the mere instructions that become the important element. The nuance of word and thought expressed through short descriptive text becomes the core of the artistic process.

This differs greatly from the tradition of photographic and illustrative art. We stand on the edge of a precipice, and the near future will bring a tidal shift in how images are made.