My seafoam green tw0-slice toaster came with a manual on heat level settings. Six slices of toast are arranged in two columns depicting the gradient of toastiness—from barely toasted to nearly burnt. “These images are actual representations of white toast heated at the various toaster heat levels,” the description reads, “Actual color of toast may vary by type of bread.“
This half-sheet infographic takes its job so seriously, it’s almost comical. But there’s something about it that still captures my attention. After a little Googling, I realize that it mimics (or might even be) a piece of conceptual art.
According to The Tate Museum, conceptual art is art where the idea (or concept) behind the art is more important than the final outcome of the art project itself. More on conceptual art here.
The Art Assignment, a PBS Digital Studios Production, points out the following examples of conceptual art in “The Case for Conceptual Art.”
One and Three Chairs by Joseph Kosuth — Kosuth lined up an image, dictionary definition, and a physical chair to ask “Which representation is most like a chair?”
100 Boots by Eleanor Antin — Antin photographed 100 boots throughout California and New York doing things humans normally do and mailed postcards out of them to artists, friends, and museums.
I Got Up by On Kawara — Kawara documented the time he got up and mailed postcards to friends and art directors.
According to PBS, conceptual art is a “deadpan recording and structuring of life, almost aggressively unartful, that replaced the careful consideration of composition and form and flourish normally associated with art and artists.”
The adjective “deadpan” strikes a chord with me because most of my work takes on a similar matter-of-fact style intended to convey that ordinary, everyday things and/or experiences are beauty in and of themselves.
And so, with all of this research, I learned that my art and the reason for making it is similar to that of conceptual art. No wonder I liked that toaster manual. It now hangs on my fridge.
