From September 8th until November 1st 2008, EL SOURDOG HEX e.V. will be presenting works by the American artist Lawrence Weiner (b. 1942, Bronx, New York). The exhibition is called: Seven Statements in One. The seven statements in the entry area of the gallery had been arranged by Lawrence Weiner to form a new coloured art work. This is on display in the second room of the exhibition.

Lawrence Weiner is considered to be one of the founding fathers of conceptual art and has been a central figure of the movement since the 1960s. He designs sculptures using language and text elements. His typographic works were first published in a 1968 book entitled Statements. To this day, books continue to make up a significant chunk of the work produced by Weiner, whose pieces were first seen on billboards, in newspapers and on the sides of buildings. In 1972, he began to write directly on the walls of exhibition spaces. That same year, he described working with text media as "the purest means of expression." In Statements, Weiner wrote a manifesto, declaring that the execution of an idea was subordinate to the idea or concept itself.
(Source: Art-edition)

"WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF A GIVEN SOCIETY
(e.g., by and large):

1. THE ARTIST MAY CONSTRUCT THE PIECE.
2. THE PIECE MAY BE FABRICATED.
3. THE PIECE NEED NOT BE BUILT.

EACH BEING EQUAL AND CONSISTENT WITH THE INTENT OF THE ARTIST, THE DECISION AS TO CONDITION RESTS WITH THE RECEIVER UPON THE OCCASION OF RECEIVERSHIP."

"Lawrence Weiner's art comes to life within the framework of a given spatial context. His works interact with their immediate environment, and art and architecture become one. A wordsmith of text sculptures, words are his paintbrush, and his canvas is the spot he selects to write them. Lawrence Weiner wants to take a stand, he wants to make a clear statement that provokes thought, he wants to communicate ideas that materialize as sculptures in the minds of the receiver."
(Source: Art-edition)

"Art is something that you make for other people. Art wouldn't be necessary on a desert island. " (Source: Interview given on the occasion of the opening of the 1999 "Tatsächlich" exhibition at the Neues Museum Weserburg, Bremen). "To Weiner, language is the medium that best distills and clarifies ideas. It enables him to pinpoint a statement's essence without watering it down. He communicates bold ideas using clear, easily readable fonts like Franklin Gothic Extra Condensed, which he presents in a formal and reserved manner. He uses color sparingly and only when it makes a statement read better or more intelligible."
(Source: Thomas Deecke, Museum Weserburg)

"Art is readable, pictures are a language." - Lawrence Weiner

Works cited:
Art-edition, Künstlerporträt (portrait of the artist), http://www.art-edition.de. Fietzek, Gerti and Stemmrich, Gregor. Gefragt und Gesagt, Schriften & Interviews von Lawrence Weiner 1968-2003, Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern-Ruit, 2004. Neues Museum Weserburg, Bremen, http://www.nmwb.de. Tatsächlich, Skulpturen und Bücher von Lawrence Weiner; Neues Museum Weserburg, Bremen. 1999.

Exhibition:
September 8 - November 1, 2008
Tuesday to Saturday, 11am – 6pm
Admission is free