Installation
DEFINITION
A term originally applied to the hanging or arranging of artwork for exhibition. However, in the 1970s, primarily in the United States, the term has taken on a modernist meaning referencing site-specific artwork, meaning an arrangement of objects intended for a specific place. Often this type of installation is composed of many items that create a message-bearing environment. Late 20th-century artists involved in the movement include Mathew Barney, Nayland Blake, Christian Boltanski, Walter De Maria, Chris Burden and Kiki Smith. Source: Robert Atkins, "Art Speak"<br><br>A mode of work in which art elements (sculptural or otherwise) are installed in a location, either responding to the site itself (called site-specific installation) or not.<br><br> A type of art, usually sculptural, which is often large enough to fill an entire space, such as a gallery, and consists of a number and variety of components. Installation art perhaps began in the 1960's with Ed Kienholz and George Segal, two American sculptors. Ed Kienholz' work contains such elements as cars and institutional furniture (suggesting a state hospital or prison), with the content being death and serious societal issues. Segal's work, in contrast, consists of lifesize plaster figures (cast from real people and usually white), engaged in contemporary and mundane activities, such as adding letters to a movie marquee or waiting for the subway, and often represent the poetry of the mundane. Installation art is often site-specific, meaning that it is created specifically for a certain site. There are many contemporary artists creating installations, such as Judy Pfaff.