22 April 2016

Art & Language: Conceptual art, mirrors and selfies

British artists Michael Baldwin and Mel Ramsden reflect on the beginnings of conceptual art group Art & Language

The collective Art & Language was founded in Coventry, England by Michael Baldwin, David Bainbridge, Terry Atkinson and Harold Hurrell in the early 1960s, and the critic and art historian Charles Harrison and the artist Mel Ramsden both became associated with the group by 1970. In their self-titled journal, Art & Language questioned the critical assumptions of mainstream modern art practice and theory.

Michael Baldwin and Mel Ramsden sat down with TateShots to reflect on the group’s beginnings, the intentions of Conceptual art and how they unwittingly created one of the Tate’s most popular artworks for selfies.