The Art of InstructionThe Art of Instruction is how you interpret and create work based on someone else's instructions. The art of instruction is about the decisions you make as an artist based on a instruction to get a successful outcome.
The 'Do it' books started with Hans Ulrich Obrist. 'Do it' started over 20 years ago and now has over 60 incarnations as exhibitions, archive, videos and seminars. |
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Erwin Wurm
Erwin Wurm created instruction drawings and used text to present an instruction using an object near by, he created these for visitor's of the galleries to 'perform'. Sometimes he would photograph the actions being 'performed' himself other times the performers would take the images themselves. The improvised nature is very similar to the work of the 'Do it' book and exhibitions were artists create instructions for people visiting galleries to perform. His book 'One Minute Sculptures' was made in the late 1990's, the instructions within it turn people into the artwork so instead of seeing the artwork they become it for a short period of time. All of Erwin Wurm's images are very different his images are not taken at a normal angle or even always in focus which shows the thought process, it shows that its very quick and its not being thought about at the time similarly to how these strangers put themselves in his exhibition.
Sol LeWitt
Sol LeWitt created instructions that are quite different from Erwin Wurm's he uses words to describe what he wanted the person to do. His instructions are more detailed and can't be interpreted in many ways it leaves the performer doing exactly what LeWitt wants them too.
Responses
Within this task we were given an instruction and we had to take images based on the instruction. This was inspired by Erwin Wurm's one minute sculptures and the do it exhibitions these are exhibitions with objects and instructions created by artists for people who go the exhibitions they can perform and document the instruction. Our instruction was to hold an exercise above our head whilst standing on one leg, we had to create images that looked like sculptures.
My Instruction.
Go to a place you've never been and take as many photos as you like.
My instruction was to go to place I had never been at first I didn't like my instruction I found it really difficult to think of a place I had never been too, but I had come across a little park with a pet cemetery within it and I thought it was really interesting. At first when I came across the cemetery I felt quite uncomfortable being there because I didn't feel like it was a place I should be because its very personal. Most of my images come across as quite uncomfortable, they are taken very quickly and they don't focus on the actual pets and the place itself I wanted to focus on the surroundings of the place and how it was maintained.