What does this work DO? exercise: What_Does_This_Work_Do_Exercise.pdf
For this assignment, you will develop a sculptural work through an imagined collaboration with a contemporary artist. Rather than imitating style or copying formal elements, you will identify and work from that artist’s conceptual strategy. This is the underlying logic, method, or way of thinking that drives their work.
You should approach this project as if you were collaborating with the artist: studying how they operate conceptually, then proposing and producing a work that extends, adapts, or repositions that strategy through your own material choices, interests, and decisions.
Artist Selection
Each student will select one contemporary artist (1970s–present), approved by the instructor. The artist may be living or deceased, but their work must be well-documented and critically discussed. A good list to start your research is here: https://publish.obsidian.md/atimidmule/_Home
You should primarily engage with a body of work, not a single object, unless instructor approved.
Research & Conceptual Analysis
Using library-based research and the web, you will study your chosen artist’s work and identify their primary conceptual strategy. This might include (but is not limited to):
Systems or rule-based processes
Use of repetition, accumulation, or seriality
Engagement with site, context, or audience
Material as metaphor or carrier of meaning
Instruction, delegation, or collaboration
Translation between mediums or disciplines
Interrogation of institutions, labor, authorship, or value
Your task is to decode how the work operates conceptually. You should not be focused on just the look or material of the work.
You will then design and produce a sculptural work that:
Clearly demonstrates an understanding of the artist’s conceptual strategy
Uses that strategy as a starting point.
Reinterprets or redirects the strategy through your own choices
This is not a pastiche or homage. If your work looks like a copy, you have misunderstood the assignment.
Rules & Constraints
Materials and scale are open, with the condition that storage does not disrupt the shared studio environment.
Installation and site-responsive work is permitted within approved areas in the art building or immediate grounds.
Any site-based work must be removable and not left installed outside class hours.
You are responsible for logistics, setup, breakdown, and storage.
Required Research Sources
You must use physical library resources in addition to the internet.
Acceptable sources include:
Books from the library
Scholarly or critical writing
Art journals such as:
Artforum
Art in America
Sculpture
There must be substantive written analysis of the artist’s work. Image-only sources, gallery ads, or isolated installation photos are insufficient.
Written Component
You will submit a brief statement that includes:
Identification of the artist’s conceptual strategy
A clear explanation of how your work engages, adapts, or challenges that strategy
Basic biographical context relevant to the work
Materials
Please select materials that you want to work with, that are workable in our shop, and that are readily available. The turnaround time on this project s not long enough for you to learn a new, complex process from scratch.