John Kaldor Family collection

The John Kaldor Family Collection in the Art Gallery of New South Wales exhibits a collection of contemporary works gifted to the museum by John Kaldor. John Kaldor is a collector, patron and supporter of the arts. He is responsible for bringing groundbreaking and innovative art to Australia. Kaldor’s Art Projects have contributed to a change in the understanding of contemporary art in Australia. The Kaldor collection exhibits 50 years of works totalling a value of $35,000,000.  

‘I did not set out to form a collection; to collect was a way to participate in the excitement, the creative energy of contemporary art.’ – John Kaldor

The Kaldor Project’s purpose was to bring international contemporary art into Australia. These works represent important trends in contemporary art practice. Kaldor developed lasting relationships with these artists, it is through his art projects the Australian public is introduced to his love of art. These projects worked directly with the artists and their studios. The exhibition features the Kaldor Family collection in conjunction with the galleries art collection, the final goal being a comprehensive display of art history from the 1960s till the present. 

The exhibition houses works from:

Sol LeWitt Wall Drawing #1091: arcs, circles and bands (2003) LeWitt was an important figure in the minimalist movement and who set he groundwork for conceptual art. Kaldor admired the work of LeWitt and therefore his collection of LeWitt work is the most comprehensive of any in the world.

Jeff Koons White Terrier (1991) an artist who celebrates Neo-pop and references Art history and popular culture.

Robert Rauschenberg’s Dylaby (1962). Rauschenberg was leading contributor in movements of the post-war era, his ‘combines’ changed American art through its disjointed nature.

Donald Judd Untitled (1975) Judd was a Minimalist who explored properties of ‘new’ materials, experimenting with different forms.

Frank Stella Untitled (1965) Stella is regarded as the first minimalist.

In 1993 John Kaldor was awarded the Order of Australia for his contribution to the development of contemporary art in Australia.

‘John Kaldor has been one of the most forward thinkers in bringing unique contemporary art projects to a broad public who might not otherwise be exposed to such work.’[1]

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[1] Agnes Gund, Chairman International Council of Moma, New York www.http://kaldorprojects.org.au/about/john-kaldor

John Kaldor Family Collection

A passionate and committed collector of Contemporary art for over 50 years, John Kaldor has amassed over 200 Australian and international artworks worth more than $35 million. In 1969 he invited Christo and Jean-Claude to Australia to create The Wrapped Coast which would go on to be John Kaldor’s Art Project 1. From here he began the Kaldor Public Art Projects which was listed in 2004 on the register of charitable organisations. His organisation not only brings innovative Contemporary art to Australians but also develops educational programs for students and the general public.

In 2008 Kaldor gifted his amazing collection to the AGNSW. It is the largest and most significant benefaction in the gallery’s history. With a $27 million grant from the NSW government, the AGNSW was able to build a 3400m2 Contemporary Art exhibition space. Walking down the multilevel stairs to the Kaldor exhibition you are magically drawn in by Rondinone’s clockwork for oracles 2011, a 2 storey whitewashed newsprint wall with brightly colored plexiglass reflective ‘windows’ triggering a feeling of excitement and anticipation of what is to come. On entering the gallery level a series of large wrapped pieces by Christo lay before you, to the left the magnificent wall work Southern gravity 2011 by Richard Long with his Spring showers circle 2011 below, turn right and head towards the both vibrant and white minimalistic works of Sol Lewitt.

The current John Kaldor Family Collection exhibition finds 61 works from 22 exciting contemporary artists including Robert Rauschenberg, Carl Andre, Jeff Koons, Francis Alyis, Christo, Uno Rondinone and Sol Lewitt. The themes embraced include; minimalism and conceptual art, action and location, pop art, photography and video, history and memory and back to the future. The artworks include media styles such as installation, photography, video art, assemblage and painting with a strong lean towards sculpture and drawing.

AGNSW has triumphantly given a new ‘home’ to Kaldor’s collection of Contemporary art allowing the audience to emotionally engage with each artwork. As John Kaldor said “I hope the public will have the same pleasure and sense of discovery that I was fortunate to have living with this collection” 1.

1. Wayne Tunnicliffe, John Kaldor Family Collection, Art Gallery New South Wales (Sydney: Art Gallery New South Wales, 2011)

John Kaldor Family Collection

Review -

John Kaldor Family Collection

The John Kaldor Family Collection was generously donated to the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Valued at 35million it is the largest single art donation to an Australian public gallery with over 200 contemporary works of art including works by some of the most important artists of our time.  John Kaldor is an internationally recognized Australian art collector well known for his artistic programs, education and awareness.  Working with contemporary artists over the past 50 years, Kaldor has continually produced Kaldor Public Art Projects, commissioning groundbreaking works by emerging and established international contemporary artists. 

            The exhibition space has been developed to hold the broad array of work. The Gallerys old storage  area and existing display space have been renovated to create a entire new floor 3300 square meters of exhibition space. That now holds Australia’s most comprehensive representation of contemporary art from the 1960s to the present day. There is enough space to view each work individually and in the vast array of different works there is a consistent theme of Contemporary thew the presence of non-traditional art mediums and practices like video and sound installation. Key movements can be seen in the collection, including Pop art, Land Art and Minimalism. 

            A key aspect of this collection is the works unusual relationship with the space. The method of placing some of the works on the floor changes the way the viewer experiences the work evolving the piece to be interactive. The floor works ‘Body Double’ by Julie Rrap and ‘Steel-Copper Plain’ by Carl Andre use deliberate placement to change and add meaning to there work. In ‘Steel-Copper Plain’ it can be walked on creating and uncomfortable questioning as the interaction is  different to previously known “normal” behavior of  viewing in the gallery. The large variety in the collection is a great example and creates  more understanding of contemporary art across a variety of art forms. The collection creates questioning about the role of the individual. The individual as part of the work but also how the art work is alter by the presence of the individual.  The large exhibition displayed in the Art Gallery of New South Wales holds amazing elements of contemporary art but the selection of pieces are also a reflection of John Kaldor as an individual. Kaldor had a large impact on the placement of the works as well as his personal collection leading the exhibition to be about the individual from beginning to end.  

18th APRIL - GALLERY VISIT BLOG POST

Hi All,

I thought I should just clarify a few things about the exhibition visit and the blog posting.

You can visit any day between now and our next class. Remember the Kaldor collection is the most important collection to visit for class discussion -the MCA visit is a wonderful addition however and should be on your 'list of things to do' anyway!!!

http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/new-contemporary-galleries/

I think you will find that the works on display are very much connected to the ideas we have discussed thus far in class.

In terms of the blog posting:

Write a succinct review of this collection (approx 400 words). There are a number of ways in which you might like to comment:

• eg. John Kaldor's influence on Contemporary art in Australia
• Discuss whether there a particular focal point to the collection /eg. collection based on medium (sculpture, installation painting?)/time period of works being collected/Nationality of artists/thematic focus?
• Choose two works to focus on / compare and contrast

While you are at the AGNSW you should also take time to visit:

Eugenia Raskopoulos
footnotes

until 13 May 2012

In this video installation, Raskopoulos performs a series of actions that accumulate letters into words, in English and Greek, using her own limbs as the writing instrument or surface.

Mother India
video plays by Nalini Malani

until 20 May 2012

The focus of this display is a 15-metre long video projection, featuring an emotive and politically charged sequence of images addressing gender violence in India.

Thank you and see you in our next class.

Regards,

Amanda.

18th APRIL - GALLERY VISIT

Dear Students,

I am sorry I was unable to be present for your last class before Easter.

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances - I will also be away for the EXHIBITION VISIT on WEDNESDAY.

This will not effect the class however as usually I simply accompany students on exhibition visits and it is up to YOU to engage with work on show and ask questions!

So, could you all please visit the AGNSW:

New contemporary galleries
featuring the John Kaldor Family Collection

I would like you all to make comments on the BLOG for discussion in our next class planned for 2nd MAY (don't forget there is a research / non-teaching week between the gallery visit and the following class).

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to send me an email.

Kind Regards,

Amanda

Summary - Interventions

Artists often utilise instillation in attempt to move away from the traditional art making practices and to build a relationship between the artwork and its surroundings. As a medium sculpture allows the audience to view the work spatially as well as conceptually. In a way interventions allow the artist to confront the viewer due to the confusing nature of them as “an outgrowth of art that refuses to abide by conventional practices” Buren’s work Within and Beyond the Frame (1973) manipulates the notion of boundaries, going ‘beyond the frame’ he leaves his work open for interpretation to his audience. During the 1960’s the art world saw drastic changes. Artists were in many cases working against the traditional art forms and art making practices, pushing forward controversial and experimental techniques and thought forms. Not only the artists changed but the values of museums and galleries shifted also. No longer was it something admired, but by contrast, it was now critique. The birth of site-specific works made museums futile in what they were traditionally used for. Additionally this allowed for artists to develop work out of reach of the traditional art world and the structures and limitations that went hand in hand with it.

Ultimately the aim of interventions is to reduce or remove the traditional conventions of art from instillations. Artists such as Bruce Nauman, Carl Andre and Richard Serra are all minimal artists that explore this this notion within their work. Serra and Nauman’s works both take on a more aggressive approach to audience participation; in a way they are forcing the viewer to engage with the works. A juxtaposition can be seen with the works of Nauman and Serra when compared to the works of Andre; Andre’s works unlike Nauman and Serra give the audience a choice as to whether they wish to engage, or not, with them.

Understanding Installation Art From Duchamp to Holzer Mark Rosenthal SITE-SPECIFIC INSTALLATION:INTERVENTIONS

Site-Specific Installation aims to change the way people view art. It begins by using the site as its starting point. Should the work be moved it no longer resonate with the same meaning.

By utilizing space outside of the cultural, architectural or functionality norm it draws the viewer into a debate about how we look at art. The questions that arise are as important as the finished piece. In fact it could be argued this is the whole point for many of these works. By utilizing the new, forgotten or previously ignored spaces the viewer has to consider the ‘boundaries of art’ and what this means to the present day viewer.

By drawing the viewer’s eye into an area perhaps not considered before it is impossible for them to consider the same space with the preconceived canons as set out by previous periods. This tool now engages the space and audience in a new dialogue about physical borders imagined or otherwise.

Duchamps Mile of String in 1942 shows this by making it physically impossible for the viewer to get close to works of art he considered to be old fashioned. By using this technique not only is it physically impossible to see the last canons he also draws the eye to areas perhaps not considered before within the architectural context and by doing so establishes and shows how the previous canon is antique- like something covered in spider webs -Impenetrable and lost in time.

Daniel Burens work Within and Beyond the Frame, 1973, takes the viewers eye so far out of what was once considered the picture frame (at least within the gallery confines) and asks the viewer to consider the inside and outside world and how art relates to it in the present day. With its movement above the bustling streets its noise may not be heard or even noticed or considered to be art, but it is there nonetheless.  The question is being asked from both within and out of the gallery space.  It shows that art does not have borders.

Most Site-Specific Installation aims to attack. Making itself immovable form site to sight it ceases to exist on completion of the show.It reflects the confined views of a canon by trying to be canon-less.  It cannot be collected, or bought.  It cannot co-exist with the bourgeois notions of what art is. . It often attacks the institution it is housed in and the audience that views it. It creates an argument against a past it is no longer reaching behind to reference. 

Site-Specific Installation: Intervention

Installation as an art form has been seen to move away from traditional and conventional themes and practices. There are endless possibilities of mediums artists can use. This form has the ability to address the literal surroundings of the work much more than others. Majority of the works are placed in sites specifically chosen for one reason or another- to enhance meaning, make a statement, etc. Museums are often used as a location for installation works. It can be interpreted that the use of the museum as the site and the art itself can become totems for the larger framework of society that surround it. Such an interpretation can show how installations can become a tool of inquiry for our world and this is achieved through the conscious choice to place the installation. Installations also engage the audience and have the ability to create confusion about the nature a space, as shown in some of Marcel Duchamp's installations. For example, he made the viewers have to move awkwardly around the string in the space if they wished to fully experience the piece. Installations have, in some cases, involved as an extension beyond the painting and canvas to the surrounding wall and the room in which it is placed. A strong sense that the viewer co-habits the space that holds the art can be achieved through installations. Often they have interactive elements, with the chosen space having the ability to enhance what the artist is trying to communicate. Installation work is able to emphasis the physical dimensions of a space rather than the aesthetic function.

SUMMARY - Enchantments

   Enchantment draws on theatrical roots with the audience being transported into the artists own spectacle. Enchanted spaces are rarely site-specific as it is all about capturing the viewer entirely. However, some artists use the area to their advantage, using the windows, ceiling and floor to represent ‘the rejected world’, ‘sky’, or ‘earth’ respectively.

  

 Enchantment installations are best explained through Kurt Schwitter’s, Merzbau. Between 1919 and 1937 Schwitter created a ‘large-scale field of imaginary possibilities’, a pyschological dimension, with every surface covered with various materials. Merzbau was a perfect illustration of what installation would become, a place where the viewer is transported into a ‘state of awe...(and) a sense of physical smallness’.

  

 The 1920s was a huge time for installations. Significant contributors were the Bauhaus, Russian Constructivists and the De Dtijl. Artists showing at the First International Dada Fair in Berlin presented a model world through collaborative works through floor-to-ceiling collage as an anti-aesthetic statement with political messages expressed through the sense of disorder and anarchy. Duchamp and Dali were crucial figures in enchantment installations using surreal methods to entise the viewer and invite them into a situation where they felt they were 'spying' or 'trespassing'.

  

In 1955 Disneyland (purely constructed for leisure) was opened and is an example of enchantment as there is a slight relation to installation through theatrical rides and the full interaction of its users. Disneyland, created by Walt Disney gave participants a chance to completely immerse themselves into a new world, and were given a 'transforming experience' achieved through sensory reactions.

   

The late 1960’s saw an expansion of paintings (tableaux) and their intimate worlds were used to create events which were labelled as ‘Happenings’. Alan Kaprow led these Happenings which were theatrically orientated with the viewer to ‘perform’. Video Installations were also types of art that have enchantment characteristics with viewers standing before ‘a dream or nightmare world’.

   

Enchantments create an atmosphere where one feels as if they have entered the mind of the artists seeing through their eyes, their ideas and their interests.

INTERVENTIONS

Summary -

SITE-SPECIFIC INSTALLATION : INTERVENTIONS

Artists have employed the medium of installation to investigate the physical, functional, intellectual cultural, or institutional character of there works. Installation moves away from conventional themes of art and addresses its literal surrounding spaces. Buren invited the street in to the gallery intending to undo the idea that the space for viewing art was isolated from life. Interventions are an outgrowth of art that refuses to abide by conventional practices. Duchamp created confusion about the nature of a space, he played a behavioral game with the viewers physical movements and breaks away from conventional walls.

In the 1960s there were many assaults on conventional thinking about the past structural nature of a work of art. Frank Stellas shaped canvases suggested extension beyond the painting the works engaged with real lace and the physical space drawing the viewer in to the work . Carl Andres floor bound work is a complex situation for the viewer unnoticeable in a space but wanting the viewer to engage by walking on the work. A large change in the history of sculpture the viewer creates transgression through experience. Creates a theatrical aspect from the behavior and awareness of the self this is important to installation a site-specific art. Sculptures depending on the environment and minimal works create a relationship with there surroundings that the viewer retains memory of. Breaks out against the predictable of structures and influence spatial exploring. Richard Serra used instillation sculpture to create an internal hermetic composition of parts that must be circumnavisated to be appreciated. The spectator is surrounded in a threatening experience. Creating uncomfortable and unwanted participation.

Many questioned the exalted contexts of art changing the idolization of work exhibited in a museum to the object of criticism. Artists felt there installations stood to far apart from present daily life issues. Artists intervened with this criticism creating works were the sight is more than an accomplice to the work becoming the subject. Asher emptied the gallery of all internal walls separating the front viewing area from the rear offices for gallery business, rather than enchantment you view the hole space including the not idolized elements. Given the increasing occurrence of transcultural experiences, the art technique of installation can effectively investigate the multiple realities and points of view common to ones experiences of life.

Filled-Space Installation: Enchantments

"Schwitters wrote of a 'contemplative immersion of the self in art', in which the individual would experience release from 'life, from all things that disturb mankind'". The first known artwork to be made in the enchantment-type installation was Merzbau (1919-1937) by Dadaist Kurt Schwitters; with each wall covered in materials produced from different sources and the mimicking of a film set, came a personal meaning through the application of iconographic forms, enveloping the viewer completely. Through this work, Schwitters wanted to demonstrate a different psychological aspect that he thought single works were in lack of, creating an immense environment of possibilities with his installation technique. The architectural elements of Merzbau would later develop an important aspect of installation. Installation artist, Ilya Kabakov, describes the enchantment as a strong level of "falsity ... artificiality ... deceit,". Absorbing the mind, the enchantment allows one who walks into an environment to experience a growth of disbelief, cultural familiarity, literary and psychological possibilities; giving a sense of a sharpened reality and a peek into the artist's mind. In the structural setting, enchantments seldom relate to the architectural space in which they are installed. In the 1920s, installation work was in a prolific stance. An abundance of experimentation increased at the Bauhaus and by the De Stijl group in Holland. Their installations called for a switch between different artists' of various media in a collaborative project. In particular, The First International Dada Fair in Berlin (1920) included an unkempt, floor-to-ceiling ambience of objects, with a political tone and a violently anti-aesthetic statement, the art overtook a new purpose. Marcel Duchamp created an installation in which he hung up twelve hundred sacks of coal from above, with leaves and a brazier on the ground; not only comprised of his own work, but also of the paintings hung up by other artists in the space provided. A year after, Salvador Dali created a highly theatrical installation entitled Dream of Venus. This, along with Merzbau, established the stage for all following enchantments, adorned with a perplexing overtone in surreality. The next example of enchantment was the opening of Disneyland (1995), though not found in an art context, the viewer is left with a transforming experience as Walt Disney describes "here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy". This lead to a more wider use of the tableaux formation; with elements of a walk-in environment creating a worldly aura, theatrical in the most fundamental sense. In close relation, video installations follow the model of the enchantment, captivating the viewer in a different realm. With poetic implications and a sense of entering a world apart from the external world, the enchantment, though initially presented in one space, can be moved to another location with ease. 

Understanding Installation Art: Enchantments Rosenthal

With Kurt Schwitter’s 18 year work, Merzbau, began a new form of installation labelled ‘Enchantment’. This style allowed the viewer to be immersed in and enclosed by the artist’s work. Schwitter’s Mezrbau, was a site specific, walk through, installation that overtook his home created with any object that became available to him. Although site specific at the beginning, it was destroyed during World War 2 and Schwitter’s recreated it on numerous occasions.

Enchantment installation, as it name suggests, draws on a certain amount of drama allowing for the immersion of the audience not only within the exhibition space but the artist’s psyche as well. Because of their multi media and non site specific nature, these types of exhibits are easily transported to new locations. As Rosenthal mentions the Enchantment installations are often the works of ‘nomadic, global artists who enjoy international citizenship at massive biennale-type exhibitions’.

The Bauhaus and De Stijl group during 1920’s brought a great collaboration between artists of Enchantment installation. The first International Dada Fair incorporated a hotch potch of not only many multi media styles but artists who together created, within their exhibition space, a massive 3D collage effect. During this time political overtones began to be seen in these installations. Rosenthal said, ‘The Dada fair thus represented a politicized version of Enchantment.’

Along with Schwitter’s, Duchamp was a prominent figure in Enchantment installation. While other artists hung paintings, he hung 1200 sacks of coal. Both artists created a surreal effect to their works giving the viewer a sometimes frightening and almost dreamlike experience.

Surprisingly it was Disneyland that gave people a new perspective on Enchantment installation. It allowed the audience to be lost within a world outside their own giving them an explosion of sensory pleasure and fear.

With Alan Kaprow at the forefront, the late 50’s, early 60’s saw artists broaden the boundaries of Enchantment installations adding a more theatrical element to their work known as ‘Happenings’. Video exhibitions too had that element of Enchantment often surrounding the viewer on many surfaces of the space and immersing them into the installation. In the late 70’s early 80’s Jonathan Borofsky also created installations that covered his entire space with all forms of his art.

As mentioned all these installations gave the viewer an insight not only onto another world but the artists mind as well.

Summary- enchantments

The idea of enchantment works plays on the notion for audience to engulf themselves into the ideas and concepts that artists hope to convey through their works, predominantly seen through the utilisation of installation, unaffiliated with the environments in which it consumes or the particular sites that it inhibits.

It can be explored through Schwitters’ work ‘Merzbau’ that through the use of installation he creates an imaginative experience, where one can be transported to the visions of its creator and in so produces the works enchanting value. Through installation Schwitters allows on-lookers to immerse themselves in the possibilities of the filled space and have an intense experience or relationship where one can detach themselves from their everyday world or “life, from all things that disturb mankind”. Enchanted spaces are mostly not site-specific, and holds its complete meaning or achieves it’s purpose through the viewing or interaction of its audience members, in this it also suggests the unawareness of one may experience of one’s own self and body when looking upon or walking within the filled space rather than a connection of the environment they are situated in.

Marcel Duchamp, and his installation works can further explain the ideas of enchantment works. In ‘Etant Donnes’ audiences are called upon to interact and complete the work by peering through a peephole to a vision of a sexually provocative scene, and therefore through the viewers discomfort or newly found status of ‘spying’ achieve the intent of the work.  Through this idea Enchantment as expressed by Jeffrey Saletnik to ‘work on the assumption that the participant brings with him the tools- his body and his sense’ suggests the possible example of Disneyland to hold enchanting value, where all who involve themselves in the thematic environments and imaginative fantasy worlds, are called to participate and detach from the word of convenience, and into the ideals of enchantment and imagination.  Seen as a ‘leisure entertainment’ the theme park to holds expectant interaction and public participation, and showcases that non-artistic environments can like the ideals of enchantment installations both rely on its audiences to sought meaning, purpose or function.

Additionally works which later involved that of video installations have also contributed to the ideals of the Enchantment where audiences are rather called to reflect as opposed to participate, however achieving the same ideal of disassociation of the viewers personal world and involvement of themselves in the subject at hand. Through the use of exhibition spaces as opposed to cite specific environments works are enabled to focus upon the experience of the work rather than the relationship or connections it holds upon the space it inhibits, described by installation artist Kabakov as providing a ‘refuge’ where the focus in the works itself calls viewers to enthral themselves into the artworks and derive meaning through one’s own involvement of the works in place.

Enchantments summary

Enchantment installations can be categorised as those that fully surround and envelop the viewer on a physical and psychological level, transporting them to a phantasmagorical realm far removed from the architecture of the site.  Autonomous environments are created dependent on the suspension of disbelief, rendering the site of enchantment installation arbitrary.

Modern explorations of enchantments were pioneered by Kurt Schwitter, whose work ‘Merzbau: Cathedral of Erotic Misery’ involves the invasion of every surface of his home with three-dimensional formalist structures, creating a large-scale physical field of art in which the viewer is completely immersed. The combination of a wide range of materials and the interaction with the architecture renders this a Gesamtkunstwerk – a synesthetic culmination that underpins installation art. Schwitter’s concept was one which could be transposed quite easily to another location, detracting significance from the work’s interaction with the site.

            Schwitter’s work was paralleled by installation experimentation within Dada, Bauhaus, Russian Constructivism and Dutch De Stijl, and was famously utilised by Marcel Duchamp and Salvador Dali. Duchamp’s works ‘1200 Bags of Coal’ (1938) and ‘Etant donnes’ (1946-66) subvert and harness the gallery space as a means of luring the viewer in, as only with their engagement and connection will the artwork be complete. Dali’s ‘Le Taxi Pluvieux’ (1938) and ‘Dream of Venus’ (1939) created worlds in which the surreal, bewitching, perplexing and frightening were to dominate above all else, including the space in which it was situated.

            With the construction of Disneyland in 1955, a fascinating comparison was drawn between the ‘world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy’ created by Walt Disney purely for leisure purposes, and the immersive, theatrical nature of enchantment installations. These expectations of entertainment within art led to the expansion of the tableaux format to the creation of live, performative ‘happenings’, led by artists such as Alan Kaprow. Again, the focus of these phenomena was viewer engagement and involvement to further the belief in the artist’s manufactured situations.

            The creation of contained worlds is continued by Ilya Kabakov, in his use of devices such as doors and walls separating the space from the gallery; Johnathan Borofsky in his works’ movement around and across adjacent surfaces – a principle survived through contemporary video installation artists. 

In all of these enchantments, through their creation of foreign worlds in which to encapsulate the viewer, the physical space it they are situated in is forgotten, and as a result, easily changed.

Summary - Interventions

Installation has been used by artists to further explore the relationship between the artwork and it’s surroundings.  Interventions are a string of the art movement in which the viewer’s ideas of art are challenged and the artist creates confrontation and confusion for the viewer.  The 1960s brought on many changes in the art world which involved attacks on the traditional view of art.  This was demonstrated in sculpture movements such as minimalist, post-minimalist, earth and conceptual art, where the sculptures branched out from the walls and plinths of art galleries and museums and into the real world.  The viewer, while engaging with the artwork, is also engaging in the location and sharing the surroundings alongside the artwork which is a challenge for the viewer who is used to viewing art traditionally on a wall or a plinth.  This is shown through Carl Andre’s work where the viewer is confronted with a tricky situation in regards to whether the floor bound work can be walked over or not.  The viewer is allowed to be part of the artwork which breaks thoughts of traditional art viewing and thrusts the viewer into a foreign and challenging world.

Even though minimal art is not often site-specific it does work in unison with the selected space and the space can alter of influence its meaning.  Often however the artwork can be moved and a new artwork/location influence is formed.  Richard Serra was one of the artists that challenged this idea.  Serra wanted to “attack” a given space rather than work beside it. Serra and Bruce Nauman both created works which were aggressive towards the viewer, forcing participation and placing the viewer in an unpleasant situation.  Even though they are both interventions there is a clear contrast between Andre’s work where the viewer can choose if they want to participate and Serra and Nauman's work where they are forced.

During the mid 1960s the principles of the museum also changed.  What was once something to aspire to, having your art hanging in a gallery, was now the subject of critique and even anger.  With this, artists such as Michael Asher created works that were challenging the idea of a museum or art gallery.  In the Claire Copley Gallery in 1974, Asher removed all the internal walls of the gallery meaning the viewer was confronted by all the internal workings of the gallery. The location, the space itself is the artwork. 

With site-specific installation the artwork is made completely for that space and that space only.  If you were to move it, it would no longer have meaning.  The artwork is not just an object, but an object attached to a space in which it inhabits, and in the extreme case of artists like Asher, the actual space itself.