Critical Writing Index

Computer Art as Conceptual Art

by Christine Tamblyn

Art Journal, Fall 1990, v. 49, no. 3, pp. 253-256

Brief history of Conceptual art; focusing on (contemporary) interactive computer installations that model dynamics of human relationships. Tamblyn looks in depth at Lynn Hershman's Deep Contact (1990) and Sara Roberts' Margo (1989).

"The postmodernist attitude, on the other hand, is manifest in the work of computer artists who extend the purview of Conceptual art, rather than revamping traditional visual media. It seems appropriate to associate computers with Conceptual art because computers were designed to augment mental processes, as opposed to being visual or manual aids."

ITEM 1990.067 – available for viewing in the Research Centre

Videos, Artworks and Artists Cited

Deep Contact (1990)Lynn Hershman

Marcel Duchamp

Joseph Kosuth

Allan Kaprow

Peter Campus

Bruce Nauman

Dan Graham

Good Morning, Mr. Orwell (1984)Nam June Paik

John Cage

Allen Ginsberg

Margo (1989)Sara Roberts

John Manning

Metropolis (1927)Fritz Lang

The Information MachineChristoper Burnett