Installation art | Tate (2024)

Art Term

The term installation art is used to describe large-scale, mixed-media constructions, often designed for a specific place or for a temporary period of time

Installation art | Tate (1)

Installation artworks (also sometimes described as ‘environments’) often occupy an entire room or gallery space that the spectator has to walk through in order to engage fully with the work of art. Some installations, however, are designed simply to be walked around and contemplated, or are so fragile that they can only be viewed from a doorway, or one end of a room. What makes installation art different from sculpture or other traditional art forms is that it is a complete unified experience, rather than a display of separate, individual artworks. The focus on how the viewer experiences the work and the desire to provide an intense experience for them is a dominant theme in installation art. As artist Ilya Kabakov said:

The main actor in the total installation, the main centre toward which everything is addressed, for which everything is intended, is the viewer.

Installation art emerged out of environments which artists such as Allan Kaprow, made from about 1957 onward, though there were important precursors, such as Kurt Schwitters’s Merzbau 1933, an environment of several rooms created in the artist’s own house in Hanover. In an undated interview published in 1965 Allan Kaprow said of his first environment:

I just simply filled the whole gallery up … When you opened the door you found yourself in the midst of an entire environment … The materials were varied: sheets of plastic, crumpled up cellophane, tangles of Scotch tape, sections of slashed and daubed enamel and pieces of coloured cloth … five tape machines spread around the space played electronic sounds which I had composed.

From the 1960s the creation of installations has become a major strand in modern art. This was increasingly the case from the early 1990s when the ‘crash’ of the art market in the late 1980s led to a reawakening of interest in conceptual art (art focused on ideas rather than objects). Miscellaneous materials (mixed media), light and sound have remained fundamental to installation art.

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Installation art | Tate (2024)

FAQs

Installation art | Tate? ›

Installation Art is a broad term applied to a range of arts practice which involves the installation or configuration of objects in a space, where the totality of objects and space comprise the artwork. Installation Art is a mode of production and display of artwork rather than a movement or style.

What does installation mean in art? ›

Installation Art is a broad term applied to a range of arts practice which involves the installation or configuration of objects in a space, where the totality of objects and space comprise the artwork. Installation Art is a mode of production and display of artwork rather than a movement or style.

Why is it called installation art? ›

Installation art is a term generally used to describe artwork located in three-dimensional interior space as the word "install" means putting something inside of something else.

What are the 5 types of installation art? ›

Types of Installations

Almost any type of material or media can be utilized, including natural or man-made objects, painting and sculpture, as well as recent media such as film, animation, various forms of photography, live performance art (including happenings), sound and audio.

What are the 2 examples of installation art? ›

Examples of installation art include Étant Donnés by Marcel Duchamp, I Like America and America Likes Me by Joseph Beuys, The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago, and My Bed by Tracey Emin.

What is unique about installation art? ›

What makes installation art different from sculpture or other traditional art forms is that it is a complete unified experience, rather than a display of separate, individual artworks.

What techniques are used in installation art? ›

Installation art frequently makes use of mixed media techniques (painting, collage, textiles, sculpture) but also employs time-based new media and audio/visual technologies such as sound and video.

What makes a good art installation? ›

An effective art installation is one that is intriguing and demanding enough on the viewer to interrupt, “life as usual,” or better, “religion as usual.”

How do installation artists make money? ›

Installation artists are typically given an artist fee for creating a temporary installation. The fee can be set by you or the museum. Find other ways that museums can help an artist's career and hear what a curator has to say about the business of museums.

How do you analyze installation art? ›

When analysing sculptures and installations, consider whether the spectator is encouraged to look up, down or straight at the artwork (or a combination of these possible viewpoints), and what physical positions the viewing can take place from. The effects of all these should be taken into account.

What do installation artist do? ›

Installation art aims to shift the focus from the literal visual representation of a piece to what the conceptual meaning is behind it. Reworking how we consume art requires critical thinking and a shift in subjective perspective among individual viewers.

What is the most important aspect of installation art? ›

On the other hand, installation works often include and envelop the spectator in the surroundings of the piece, furthermore, it could be said that installation art is created with the focus on the viewer, where he/she becomes almost the main subject of the artwork, taking into account the spectator's involvement and ...

What are the main 7 elements of art? ›

The 7 elements of art are: line, shape, value, color, texture, space and form. The seven elements of art are also sometimes known as the seven principles of art.

What is interactive installation art? ›

Interactive art installations are usually computer-based and often depend on sensors that measure things like temperature, movement, proximity, and other meteorological phenomena programmed to generate reactions based on the actions of participants.

What is an example of installation? ›

Installation is frequently used for appliances and machinery, like the installation of a fountain in your yard or the installation of a fan in your attic to help the house stay cool.

What is the meaning of the word installation? ›

in·​stal·​la·​tion ˌin(t)-stə-ˈlā-shən. 1. : the act of installing : the state of being installed. 2. : something installed for use.

What does installation art look like? ›

Many artists design tailor-made installation art to fit into a certain space, changing it into an entirely new arena. Scaffolding, false walls, mirrors, and even entire playgrounds have filled contemporary art spaces, while light and sound effects are also a common feature.

What are the elements of installation art? ›

ELEMENTS:
  • Line – The way we treat our lines establishes a particular/dominant mood/emotion.
  • Shape – Flat, 2D aspects of form, as opposed to volume (think silhouette)
  • Value/Tone – Relative lightness or darkness.
  • Texture – Can be actual or implied.
  • Color – (we won't use color in Beginning Drawing)

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