Some of the thinking and writing behind some of the art — 2024-2025.
What is post-theory art in relation to conceptual art?
A possible definition — If Conceptual Art Is About An Idea, Post-Theory Art Is How It All Relates.
In conceptual art, the [singular] idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work” — Sol LeWitt, Paragraphs on Conceptual Art, 1967).
“Post-Theory art … it’s like honey bees … you go flower to flower … little bits, different things … and you make honey … you relate and connect things no one else might see.” (Wilson, This Is Post-Theory Art, 2025).
“It is not about we humans unless it is by us … anything can make a theory now … but only we make what is human … and that is Post-Theory Art.” (Wilson, 2025).
What is post-theory art in relation to post-conceptual art?
A related possible view — If Post-Conceptual Art Made Art Forms Fluid, Post-Theory Art Makes Human Art And Theories Fluid.
“The shift to post-conceptual art [is] a move . . . where the boundaries between art forms become fluid.” — Rosalind Krauss, October Journal, 2000.
“A recognition of post-theory art . . . shows where the boundaries between art forms and human theories become fluid.” (Wilson, 2025).
What is post-theory art in relation to what artists do?
Is what an artist does meaningfully distinguished from what an artist thinks or feels? — If Whatever An Artist Does Is Art, Whatever An Artist Thinks Is Also Art.
“If I was an artist and I was in the studio, then whatever I was doing in the studio must be art.” — Bruce Nauman, 1966.
“If whatever an artist does can be art … then whatever an artist thinks and feels can be art … no matter where or how expressed.” (Wilson, 2025).
Is there evidence of post-theory art in art history?
In the words of artists themselves, here is a a very short art history of Post-Theory Art — and the debate about whether it does or should exist at all.
Brâncuși, Constantin. (Early 20th Century, Romania). “The true artist does not theorize about art, but instead creates relationships through their work.”
Calle, Sophie. (Late 20th Century, France). “The relationships between objects and people can often reveal more than the objects or people themselves.”
Chagall, Marc. (Mid 20th Century, Belarus/France). “Theories in art are often reflections of the artist’s own mind rather than the work itself, which is born from the heart.”
Eliasson, Olafur. (21st Century, Denmark). “In art, the theory is not just an intellectual exercise but a deep connection to the world around us.”
Rauschenberg, Robert. (Late 20th Century, USA). “Theories are tools; art is an act of discovery.”
Rodin, Auguste. (Late 19th Century, France). “I invent nothing, I rediscover. Seeing connections where others have not.”
Site-specific installation and performance / happening, The Other Art Fair, New York City, 2017 … Titled ‘Some Feelings And Thoughts I’ll Have Any Second’ … 12 x 12 x 12 ft … The text-based work set forth 256 question-phrases that related things not normally thought to be connected … The installation was accompanied by a 3-day performance by the artist interacting with viewers about a public interest issue relating to mental illness. The piece may be interpreted as an early example of post-theory art — text-based art, performance art, and public interest advocacy that is both art-as-activism as well as post-theory-art.
A proposed definition of post-theory art: in the context of text-based art, activist art, artist-placed document art:
Post-Theory Art proposes three expansions of conceptual art:
One, theory-making is art; two, an artist’s theory-placement into public spaces is an artistic act; and, three, only humans can create and place such theories as art.
These comprise a proposed definition of Post-Theory Art.
A definition of Post-Theory Art asserts that much of art and theory can come only from humanity.
Some theories just come to us and cannot be built by AI. To preserve the human role in creative expression, the humanity of our art and our theories: This Is Post-Theory Art.
A related definition: Artist-Placed Public Document Art is one form of Post-Theory Art:
An artist creates a theory of public importance, then the artist embeds the artist’s theory into a text-based work, and then the artist places both in our public courts — where court rules compel a written, documentable response that is recorded in public docket.
In Artist-Placed Document Art, activist art sets the terms of engagement; by law, the public institution of the courts, and the parties brought to court, must all respond. They cannot look away.
Artist-Placed Public Document Art defined further: It is more than text-based art, performance art, and activist art. It evolves our courts into places of human art; our laws into artistic mediums; our judiciary into a performative art participant on human issues to be decided by humans.
Art itself becomes an actual act of law —a valid legal action — for the greater public interest good, by humans, for humans. Not the artificial. As such, Artist-Placed Public Document Art is just one example of many types of art, and art-hybrids, over history, and just one example of post-theory art, which is also evolving.
The above four points define Post Theory Art and one type of post-theory art. Post-Theory Art is indebted to, and makes reference to, many art histories across countries, cultures, and times — but research suggests that no artist or group has yet had a practice and theory quite like this.