Watch And Experience

In response to the appearance of 1960s minimalist art, art critic Michael Fried proposed his concept of "Objecthood"which stated that the new art form was "seeking to occupy a position in the world." His analysis argued that this was the reason for the changes in the new art form. He emphasized the art work as a objective state of existence and divided the "art object"and "object"into two oppositional domains. He not only explored the physical space in art works, but also changed our comprehension of the space in art works and the way we view the art works themselves. The viewing approach changed from the outsider gaze to a whole-body experience and the change in viewing approach made the "Object"slowly reveal its infinite abstract mind. Compared to music, visual art also occupies the same kind of abstract psychological space. Using the abstract "object"to express the inner spirit world, the relationship between art works and viewer became a more natural one. The works of artists Mark Rothko, Anish Kapoor, and James Turrell relates to the concept of "objecthood". My dissertation tries to look at their art works and analyze their motivation, illustrating the changes in the concept of space and the transformation in the viewing approach.