Lawrence Weiner

Lawrence Charles Weiner (February 10, 1942December 2, 2021) was an artist born and raised in New York City. One of the central figures in the formation of Conceptual Art in the 1960s, Lawrence Weiner explored the potentials of language as a sculptural medium. For him language could be presented in any format able to discourse with typical art subjects such as: language installed on a wall, printed as text in a book or catalog, spoken or performed in a film, spoken aloud in conversation, simply remembered, et cetera; as Lawrence explains in 1970:

"As to construction please remember that... there is no correct way to construct the piece as there is no incorrect way to construct it. If the piece is built it constitutes not how the piece looks but only how it could look."

Weiner divided his time between his studio practice in New York City and his boat, The 'Joma' in Amsterdam. He believed in the importance of making his work non-metaphorical. His goal was to give his viewers the opportunity to use the work towards their own ends. He attempted to make work that crosses cultural boundaries and defines cultural distinctions while the work is frequently translated to suit the idea of place anywhere in world. He participated in public and private projects in the new and old world maintaining that:

"ART IS NOT A METAPHOR UPON THE RELATIONSHIPS OF HUMAN BEINGS TO OBJECTS & OBJECTS TO OBJECTS IN RELATION TO HUMAN BEINGS BUT A REPRESENTATION OF AN EMPIRICAL EXISTING FACT"

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