Daniel Eatock, Conceptual Love of my Life

While neglecting various readings for classes this week, I was perusing one of my favorite blogs, notcot. Notcot is the blog to go to for interesting links to contemporary artists, design, fashion, music, and occasionally some humorous stuff. Anyway, my trusty guide introduced me to Daniel Eatock, a Los Angeles-London based artist, whose multiple text-centered and conceptual works reminded me of ARTH385's discussion on artists' reactions to the modernist (or Clement's Greenberg's)canon. If this canon dictates that all art, or at least paint on canvas, should be self contained and self referential, why even paint an artwork? Lawrence Weiner's text-based works of sentences and words plastered on museum and gallery walls seems to answer this modernist canon in the most obvious way: if painting should be self-referential and devoid of context, subject matter, and meaning, just write it. Lawrence uses language to critique the primacy placed on visuality in modernist art:

In a similar vein, many of Eatock's works are simply lists of ideas or thoughts for artworks that he would like to eventually produce, I assume given proper funding. However, I would like to argue that his mere statements of conceptual ideas are as strong as, if not stronger, than producing the actual works themselves. For example, the text below is from Eatock's artwork entitled "An Idea For..." Upon, reading his words, I found little or no need to see any of these artworks actually carried out, as their conceptual meaning and importance is conveyed through text on my computer screen. While Eatock did eventually carry out his Heinz artwork as described below and seen here, his words suffice and are interestingly more telling than the actual work. Lawrence Weiner and his contemporary Eatock, in a sense, parody modernism's sense of self referentiality and arrogance with simple letters.

And idea for…

And idea for a drinks company: I would like to pour a complete bottle/can of water/olive oil/orange juice etc. in one continuous stream from a pre calculated height, and take a single photograph before the first drip hits the ground.

An idea for a skateboard manufacture: I would like to make a skateboard coated with Blackboard paint that comes with pack of chalk and a board duster. I would also like to make a skateboard coated with a Whiteboard surface that comes with pack of dry markers and a board wipe.

An idea for a trainer/shoe manufacture: I would like to replace the laces on a pair of trainers/shoes with some very long ones, tie them together and then throw them over a telegraph wire so they hang down until they almost touch the ground.

An idea for Heinz or another similar food manufacture: I would like to mix together every single Heinz food product, then package in small cans labelled as a limited edition of everything Heinz.