Sam Francis

Untitled, 1984

106.7 X 73 inch

What is conté?

What is conté?

Conté is a vivid, waxy crayon invented by Nicolas-Jacques Conté in 1795. Artists use Conté crayons for detailed drawing, shading large areas, and blending colors. The tips can be sharpened with sanding pads for precision, or the sides can be dragged flat for broad shading.

Appropriation

Appropriation in art involves using pre-existing images or objects with little or no modification. This technique has played a significant role across various art forms, including visual arts, music, performance, and literature. In visual arts, appropriation refers to the practice of adopting, sampling, recycling, or borrowing elements—or even entire forms—of existing visual culture, integrating them into new works to create meaning or critique.

New Generation Sculpture

New Generation Sculpture was a movement started in the 1960s by a group of British artists. They experimented with unconventional forms, materials, and colors, creating sculptures that did not rely on traditional bases. Their work often featured plastic sheeting, fiberglass, and other industrial materials, which were fastened together and brightly painted.

New Topographics

New Topographics is a term coined in 1975 by curator William Jenkins to describe a group of photographers whose work focused on formal black-and-white images of urban and industrial landscapes. Jenkins initially described their aesthetic as banal, but the photographers themselves argued that their compositions were as significant as those of natural landscapes, emphasizing the beauty in everyday, man-made environments.

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