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Contemplation and Action Work (1)

Print
1970 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Letterpress print on papers, three sheets of white paper with text. The first sheet is printed with the title
in capitals and 'The product of the decision and the action referred to by this work is this work'. The second is numbered 1 and reads 'I HAVE DECIDED TO DO THIS WORK'. The third is numbered and 2 and reads 'I HAVE ACTED UPON THE DECISION TO DO THIS WORK'.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleContemplation and Action Work (1) (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
printer's ink, paper, letterpress print
Brief description
By Keith Arnatt: Contemplation and Action Work (1), letterpress print, 1970
Physical description
Letterpress print on papers, three sheets of white paper with text. The first sheet is printed with the title
in capitals and 'The product of the decision and the action referred to by this work is this work'. The second is numbered 1 and reads 'I HAVE DECIDED TO DO THIS WORK'. The third is numbered and 2 and reads 'I HAVE ACTED UPON THE DECISION TO DO THIS WORK'.
Dimensions
    Gallery label
    Keith Arnatt Born in England, 1930. Lives in Tintern, Monmouth Arnatt's work developed during the mid 60's from a concern with Minimal paintings and sculptures posing gestalt problems, through involvement with elements of behaviour and performance to works often sited out of doors involving suspension or interruption of the spectator's expectations (such as a square hole sunk into the ground in the middle of a field, with a mirror at the bottom to reflect the face of the viewer or the sky). Arnatt's concern for the equivocal relationship between the work and the viewer has led him recently into a conceptual kind of art involving ironies of presentation and exhibition which are used as a means of questioning the attribution of 'art status' or 'art content'. Arnatt's works continually pose for us the problem of comprehending the nature of the relationship betweengiven elements of any one work, and between ourselves as viewers and the work as an embodiment of some concept of arthood. A devide which Arnatt frequently uses if to build into the 'structure' of the work a short circuit which frustrates our attempts to invest it with some meaning not proper to itself. Like the Art-Language artists Arnatt has increasingly tended to ignore the rigid distinction between art and art theory. His works are often most operative in precisely those areas which were formerly regarded as peripheral- presentation, criticism, description etc- but which cannot now be treated as secondary when there is no specific material thing to act as a primary object of attention. 'It is possible for me to do nothing as my contribution to this exhibition'- 'Ideas Structures' exhibition catalogue, Camden Arts Centre, June 1970(c. 1970)
    Credit line
    Acquired from the Artist in 1970.
    Bibliographic reference
    Taken from Departmental Circulation Register 1970
    Collection
    Accession number
    CIRC.468-1970

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    Record createdJune 30, 2009
    Record URL
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