Sol Lewitt: Seven Cubes

In his description of the tenets of conceptual art, Sol LeWitt famously wrote in 1967 that “the idea is the machine that makes the work of art.” His wall drawings visualize this concept as ephemeral works that exist only as a set of instructions for others to carry out, privileging the artist’s original idea over the act of creation. The artist often likened himself to a composer, and his wall drawings to musical scores: they are realized by others without the creator’s presence or hand, are dependent upon and contextualized by the place in which they are made, and can be “performed” any number of times.

Please enjoy this video of Catharina Manchanda, SAM's Jon and Mary Shirley Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, discussing the installation.