ArtistInfo

Lawrence Weiner

voc, *1942 US, The Bronx
Spoken Word and Electronic

American conceptual artist, born 10 February 1942 in the Bronx, New York, USA. His artistic statement of intent (1968) read: (1) The artist may construct the piece. (2) The piece may be fabricated. (3) The piece may not be built. As the work is the idea, and the implementation of the idea not Weiner's task, then each work discovers its voice upon installation, its audience deciding its meaning. His prime form is wall installations, although he has worked in video, film, books, audio tapes, sculpture, performance, installation, and graphic art. His focus is on words in a simple bold typeface; language as art. Punctuation and graphical devices are used to articulate, in a direct manner, statements as abstractions. These works are seldom site-specific so can be given new interpretations with each location and with the choice of medium. NB: Not to be confused with the composer Lawrence Weiner (2), who was born in 1932.

Genres

• Spoken Word
• Electronic
• Jazz
• Dance
• Hip-Hop/Rap