Joseph Kosuth: Re-Defining the Context of Art: 1968 - 2014. the Second Investigation and Public Media

Joseph Kosuth Re-Defining the Context of Art: 1968-2012 The Second Investigation and Public Media is the first full documentation, analysis and discussion of Joseph Kosuth's pioneering work with public media over the last four decades. Kosuth is widely considered to be the 'father' of Conceptual Art. Over his prolific career he has continually explored the concept of art and the ways in which meaning is derived from an artwork - how art both produces meaning and derives meaning from the wider world. His work, presented in a variety of media, from neon to print and public billboards, often draws on philosophical texts, continually interrogating language's complex relationship to objects and ideas both within the gallery and the public sphere. Joseph Kosuth is a theoretical reading of Kosuth's media-related practice and includes essays by Gabriele Guercio and John C Welchman, as well as Joseph Kosuth himself. This book is richly illustrated with documentation of three groupings of works: The Second Investigation, 1968; Re-defining the Context of Art at MIT List Visual Arts Center, 1997; and his retrospective at the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven in 2004. These exhibitions all addressed the context of art by reframing Kosuth's public media works, such as on billboards or television, within the gallery and also by employing media tactics, such as his public questionnaires, within an art setting. In presenting this body of work, the book considers the ways in which Kosuth challenges traditional forms in art, regarding context as a crucial factor in determining meaning. Joseph Kosuth is an important and timely book discussing Joseph Kosuth's work utilising public media, in all its variations, from 1968 until now, an aspect of his work not often focused-on, though prevalent throughout his career. ILLUSTRATIONS: 410 b/w and colour