I’ve been thinking a lot lately about conceptual art. More specifically on how it fits into my art-making process. And I’ve decided that it doesn’t, and that’s ok. Though most of the big shows and art press are all about installations, performances, and the like, I don’t work that way. I work the other way around - let me ‘splain…

All artist’s conceptualize - even Bob Ross did. His happy trees and babbling brooks didn’t appear out of the ether. We humans are thinking machines, even artists. It’s simply a matter of how you conceptualize. Some artists (like me) work out our ideas visually and then ruminate on a body of work to see what that unconscious incubator between the ears has been conceptualizing in the background. Others do the thinking part up front. And I would guess that the execution is already mostly completed in their heads before they pick up a tool. It’s simply a matter of the order of the process.

It took me awhile to figure this out. In art school, one of my best friends was probably the first conceptualist I knew of. Her name was Sharon McCarthy (RIP), and she was a conceptual sculptor. She often spent more time planning and thinking about her work than in the execution. We had many animated discussions about what was more important - the idea or the finished piece. The answer, of course, is both, but I didn’t know that at the age of nineteen.

Fast forward forty years and I’ve learned a few things, thank God. Because if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have the deep appreciation for guys like John Magnan. You can see his new show at The Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River. It’s entitled “Thor’s Hammer” and it’s well worth the trip if you want to be intellectually stimulated AND visually floored by a body of conceptual art. The entire package needs to be experienced in person, so I won’t synopsize here, but please check it out. It has everything a great piece of conceptual art needs: a unique perspective, clarity and an idea that excites your mind AND eyes.

THAT’s conceptualism.