Eva Bobrowska
Abstract
This paper focuses on analysing Jacques Derrida’s aesthetic thought with reference to the
conceptual art of Joseph Kosuth. The examination of Derrida’s aesthetics in the context of
conceptual art is based upon, inter alia, Of Grammatology, and Margins of Philosophy. American
conceptual art is regarded as a sign of a peculiar language crisis diagnosed by the French
philosopher. The paper examines Derrida’s dialectics of presence and absence, the infinite and the
temporal in the context of colour and plane. Negation of negation (line) forms space, states
Derrida. Analogously, the negation of traditional art forms conceptual mental space. I analyse the
implications of Kosuth’s theoretical statements with reference to his volume entitled Art after
Philosophy and After: Collected Writings, 1966-1990, preceded by J.-F. Lyotard’s introduction.
Kosuth’s Art as Idea as Idea aims to engage and confront thought, language and artworks. Devoid
of the attraction of colour and governed by the rigorous logic of the line and typography, the
aesthetic value of Kosuth’s concept of idea defines not only art after philosophy, to refer to
Kosuth’s terms, but also art for philosophy.
AnnalsUnibuc-2013-62-02Bobrowska