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If one wanted to make a work of art devoid of meaning, it would be impossible because we’ve already given meaning to the work by indicating that it’s a work of art.

— Joseph Kosuth

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More quotes by Joseph Kosuth

Art before the modern period is as much art as Neanderthal man is man'. It is for this reason that around the same time I replaced the term "work" for art proposition. Because a conceptual work of art in the traditional sense, is a contradiction in terms.

Joseph Kosuth (1969)

The 'value' of particular artists after Duchamp can be weighed according to how much they questioned the nature of art.

Fundamental to this idea of art (conceptual art) is the understanding of the linguistic nature of all art propositions, be they past or present, and regardless of the elements used in their construction. (note: Without this understanding a 'conceptual' form of presentation is little more than a manufactured stylehood, and such art we have with increasing abundance.)

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Joseph Kosuth (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.