--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In conceptual art the idea or concept is…" description: "\"In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work\" — Sol LeWitt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f5/sol-lewitt-11839_art_in-conceptual-art-the-idea-or-concept-is_893492.jpg" --- # In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most… ![“In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work” quote by Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f5/sol-lewitt-11839_art_in-conceptual-art-the-idea-or-concept-is_893492.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f5/sol-lewitt-11839_art_in-conceptual-art-the-idea-or-concept-is_893492.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f5/sol-lewitt-11839_art_in-conceptual-art-the-idea-or-concept-is_893492.jpg) > “In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work” [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Conceptual art prioritizes ideas over visual execution, making the concept the artwork. **In simple terms:** Idea is the artwork, not the object. Key Takeaway Focus on developing clear concepts. Themes art conceptualism creativity philosophy interpretation Mood thoughtful intellectual Type artistic theoretical When to use this quote - gallery exhibitions - art education - public installations - curatorial practice - artist statements Key Concepts Aesthetics semiotics ontological debate Questions to Reflect On - What makes an idea worthy of artistic expression? - How does concept‑driven art challenge traditional aesthetics? A Different Perspective Audience may miss the concept without context; market may undervalue non‑visual work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Conceptual art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceptual-art/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) ## Related quotes > [Conceptual art is only good if the idea is good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/conceptual-art-is-only-good-if-the-idea-is-good/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [The other great development has been in photography, but that too was influenced by Conceptual art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/the-other-great-development-has-been-in-photography-but-that-too-was/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Conceptual art became the liberating idea that gave the art of the next 40 years its real impetus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/conceptual-art-became-the-liberating-idea-that-gave-the-art-of-the/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [A strong concept is the most important thing in creating a record. When you can listen to it and see a whole movie in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flying-lotus/a-strong-concept-is-the-most-important-thing-in-creating-a-record/) [Flying Lotus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flying-lotus/) > [A game's concept is one of its most important assets. I feel that we must aim to satisfy both beginners and experts, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masahiro-sakurai/a-game-s-concept-is-one-of-its-most-important-assets-i-feel-that-we/) [Masahiro Sakurai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masahiro-sakurai/) > [When I go to galleries in New York, I feel like I'm in school. I know that there's good contemporary conceptual art, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyp-malone/when-i-go-to-galleries-in-new-york-i-feel-like-i-m-in-school-i-know/) [Kyp Malone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyp-malone/) > [I've come up through art school, through painting, through graphic design, through advertising, through TV commercials and music video. I've designed books, built billboards,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kaye/i-ve-come-up-through-art-school-through-painting-through-graphic/) [Tony Kaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kaye/) > [I am not really interested in clothing as a conceptual art form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issey-miyake/i-am-not-really-interested-in-clothing-as-a-conceptual-art-form/) [Issey Miyake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/issey-miyake/) > [Conceptual art, I don't even know what that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/watkin-tudor-jones/conceptual-art-i-don-t-even-know-what-that-is/) [Watkin Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/watkin-tudor-jones/) > [Im not trying to do conceptual art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sotos/im-not-trying-to-do-conceptual-art/) [Peter Sotos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sotos/) > [I spent a lot of time on my own working out the physical vocabulary for how Gollum moved. As I say, I drew on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/i-spent-a-lot-of-time-on-my-own-working-out-the-physical-vocabulary/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [I don’t work as a conceptualist. Let’s say the conceptual art model is that you have a project idea, or a set of concerns,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gossage/i-don-t-work-as-a-conceptualist-let-s-say-the-conceptual-art-model-is/) John Gossage > [I am particularly interested in creating a relationship between ideas of reception in conceptual art and theater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-crouch/i-am-particularly-interested-in-creating-a-relationship-between-ideas/) [Tim Crouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-crouch/) > [It would be obvious for me to do conceptual art, and I think I've done it already with smashing bass guitars and whatever -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simonon/it-would-be-obvious-for-me-to-do-conceptual-art-and-i-think-i-ve-done/) [Paul Simonon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simonon/) > [What art is not processed? "Conceptual art." Somebody making a painting has to conceive of the size. I don't understand where these words came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-weiner/what-art-is-not-processed-conceptual-art-somebody-making-a-painting/) [Lawrence Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-weiner/) ## More by Sol LeWitt > [New materials are one of the great afflictions of contemporary art. Some artists confuse new materials with new ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/new-materials-are-one-of-the-great-afflictions-of-contemporary-art/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [The artist is seen like a producer of commodities, like a factory that turns our refrigerators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/the-artist-is-seen-like-a-producer-of-commodities-like-a-factory-that/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Most ideas that are successful are ludicrously simple. Successful ideas generally have the appearance of simplicity because they seem inevitable. In terms of idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/most-ideas-that-are-successful-are-ludicrously-simple-successful/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Artists teach critics what to think. Critics repeat what the artists teach them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/artists-teach-critics-what-to-think-critics-repeat-what-the-artists/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [In my case, I used the elements of these simple forms - square, cube, line and color - to produce logical systems. Most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/in-my-case-i-used-the-elements-of-these-simple-forms-square-cube-line/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Conceptual art became the liberating idea that gave the art of the next 40 years its real impetus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/conceptual-art-became-the-liberating-idea-that-gave-the-art-of-the/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [The narrative of serial art works more like music than like literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/the-narrative-of-serial-art-works-more-like-music-than-like-literature/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Just as the development of earth art and installation art stemmed from the idea of taking art out of the galleries, the basis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/just-as-the-development-of-earth-art-and-installation-art-stemmed/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [I didn't want to save art - I respected the older artists too much to think art needed saving. But I knew it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/i-didn-t-want-to-save-art-i-respected-the-older-artists-too-much-to/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [One should be intelligent enough to know when not to be too intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/one-should-be-intelligent-enough-to-know-when-not-to-be-too/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [I wasn't really that interested in objects. I was interested in ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/i-wasn-t-really-that-interested-in-objects-i-was-interested-in-ideas/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Your work isn't a high stakes, nail-biting professional challenge. It's a form of play. Lighten up and have fun with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/your-work-isn-t-a-high-stakes-nail-biting-professional-challenge-it-s/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [All of the significant art of today stems from Conceptual art. This includes the art of installation, political, feminist and socially directed art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/all-of-the-significant-art-of-today-stems-from-conceptual-art-this/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [A work of art may be understood as a conductor from the artist's mind to the viewer's. But it may never reach the viewer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/a-work-of-art-may-be-understood-as-a-conductor-from-the-artist-s-mind/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [I was not interested in irony; I wanted to emphasize the primacy of the idea in making art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/i-was-not-interested-in-irony-i-wanted-to-emphasize-the-primacy-of/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) [Explore all 57 Sol LeWitt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sol LeWitt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/in-conceptual-art-the-idea-or-concept-is-the-most-important-aspect-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/in-conceptual-art-the-idea-or-concept-is-the-most-important-aspect-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f5/sol-lewitt-11839_art_in-conceptual-art-the-idea-or-concept-is_893492.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f5/sol-lewitt-11839_art_in-conceptual-art-the-idea-or-concept-is_893492.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f5/sol-lewitt-11839_art_in-conceptual-art-the-idea-or-concept-is_893492.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work” — Sol LeWitt", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sol LeWitt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In conceptual art the idea or...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/in-conceptual-art-the-idea-or-concept-is-the-most-important-aspect-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/in-conceptual-art-the-idea-or-concept-is-the-most-important-aspect-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```