13 rooms in Materials and Objects
Contemplate Martin Creed’s conceptual installation Work No. 232: the whole world + the work = the whole world
Originally made for the entrance of Tate Britain, this neon wall sculpture presents a text in the form of an equation. While the use of an equation suggests a definitive formula, Creed’s words remains ambiguous. It has been interpreted as both a positive statement about the inclusiveness of art, and a negative statement about art’s irrelevance.
I find it a lot easier if it negates itself at the same time as pushing itself forward – so there’s an equal positive and negative which adds up to nothing, but at the same time is something too
Martin Creed
This display is part of Tate Modern's Collection Route
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Martin Creed, Work No. 232: the whole world + the work = the whole world 2000
Originally made for the entrance of Tate Britain, this neon wall sculpture presents a text in the form of an equation. While the use of an equation suggests a definitive formula, Creed’s words remains ambiguous. It has been interpreted as both a positive statement about the inclusiveness of art, and a negative statement about art’s irrelevance. ‘I find it a lot easier if it negates itself at the same time as pushing itself forward – so there’s an equal positive and negative which adds up to nothing, but at the same time is something too,’ the artist has said.
Gallery label, December 2016
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Art Term
Conceptual art
Conceptual art is art for which the idea (or concept) behind the work is more important than the finished art …