Communication

Conveying information; exchanging ideas, etc., in such a way that they are coherent. A notion underlying popular ideas of art ? that is, that an artwork is made to convey something specific that the artist had in mind, and making an artwork is primarily a matter of finding the means to make that something understood. In the 1960s, Minimalists entirely rejected the validity of this point of view, largely in favor of formalist issues. Ideas are not enough; one needs to get them into the minds of others.Quote: "I paint only for myself. I would like my work to communicate, but if it doesn't, that's all right too. I never think of the public when I paint ? never." Edward Hopper (1882-1967), American painter. Quoted by Katherine Kuh, The Artist's Voice, 1960. "Painting a picture is not a form of self-expression. It is, like any other art, a language by which you communicate something about the world." Mark Rothko (1903-1970), American Abstract-Expressionist painter. Lecture delivered at Pratt Institute, 1958. "In the long course of history, having people who understand your thought is much greater security than another submarine." J. William Fulbright (1905-), American politician, who, as a senator from Arkansas, 1945-75, proposed the Fulbright Act in 1946, which established an exchange program for American and foreign educators and students. "Every art changes inevitably in its manifestations as its creators develop, but less than one might think: it always keeps its simple, noble function, indispensible to man, which is to communicate." Karel Kupka. Dawn of Art, 1965. Also see attitude, bias, expression, graphic design, knowledge, interpretation, meaning, and straight.