CONCEPTUAL ART

CONCEPTUAL ART (c. 1960). The radical idea is that a statement, which need not be in words, can generate an esthetic experience, if properly interpreted. The classic forerunner, conceived nearly a decade before the epithet was coined, is John Cage's oft-called “silent” piece, 4'33 ”(1952), in which, in a concert situation, pianist David Tudor plays no notes for the required duration of four minutes and thirty-three seconds. By framing the performance situation, Cage suggested that all the…