{{Other uses|Dematerialization (disambiguation)}} {{context|date=September 2014}} '''Dematerialization of the art object''' is an idea in conceptual art defined as the ideas and concepts behind a work is primary and the material form is secondary.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Dematerialization|url=https://dematerialization.com/|access-date=2021-12-27|website=Dematerialization|language=en-US}}</ref> In "Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object" Lucy L. Lippard characterizes the period of 1966 to 1972 as one in which the art object was dematerialised and de-centered through the new artistic practices of conceptual art.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Blocker|first=Jane|title=What the body cost: desire, history and performance |date=2004|publisher=University of Minnesota Press|isbn=978-0-8166-4319-6|location=Minneapolis|language=English|oclc=803859335|author-link=Jane M. Blocker}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Lippard|first=Lucy R|title=Six years: the dematerialization of the art object from 1966 to 1972 : a cross-reference book of information on some esthetic boundaries ...|date=1973|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-21013-4|location=Berkeley|language=English|oclc=1015497430}}</ref>
== Examples == alt=A white porcelain urinal with "R. Mutt" in messy writing|thumb|Duchamp's ''Fountain'' An early example of dematerialization is Dadaist Marcel Duchamp's Fountain. Fountain consists of a porcelain urinal signed "R. Mutt". Duchamp entered the work into the Society of Independent Artist's first exhibition, where it was rejected. Fountain brings into question what art can be, and laid the groundwork for later conceptual artists.[https://philamuseum.org/collection/object/92488] alt=Two clocks on a white wall|thumb|''Untitled (Perfect Lovers)'' The work of American conceptual artist Felix Gonzales-Torres can be considered an example of dematerialization. In ''Untitled (Perfect Lovers)'' (1967-1990), two wall clocks constitute the work. The clocks were placed side by side, and eventually one will stop ticking before the other. This work explores Gonzales-Torres' fear of death and time, with the artist saying "Time is something that scares me . . . or used to...I wanted to face it. I wanted those two clocks right in front of me, ticking.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dallas Museum of Art |url=https://dma.org/art/collection/object/5324909 |access-date=2025-09-03 |website=dma.org}}</ref> ''Untitled (Perfect Lovers)'' could be conveyed through other means, but the artist specifically utilized readymade objects, dissociating the piece from the medium.
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:The arts Category:Conceptual art {{art-stub}}