Systems art

Loosely describes a group of radical artists working in the late 1960s early 1970s who reacted against art’s traditional focus on the object with the aim of making their art more responsive to the world around them

Vito Acconci
Room Situation (1970)
Tate

© Vito Acconci

Marcel Broodthaers
Paintings (1973)
Tate

© DACS, 2026

Richard Long CBE
A Line Made by Walking (1967)
ARTIST ROOMS Tate and National Galleries of Scotland

© Richard Long

Building on the structures of minimal art and conceptual art, the artists adopted experimental aesthetic systems across a variety of media including photography, dance, performance, painting, installation, video and film as a more effective means to connect with the political developments of the decade.

Examples of systems art include Richard Long who imposed rigid structures to his walks across the landscape.

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