Carl Andre - 'Works of Art Don't Mean Anything' | TateShots

In this interview filmed at the artist's New York apartment, Carl Andre discusses how materials are a natural part of his life, and looks back at when his work hit the headlines, recalling criticism such as 'you can't make art out of bricks'.
Since the 1960s Carl Andre has made work that emphasises the inherent qualities of his materials. After a period carving sculpture, he began arranging everyday materials in simple geometric configurations. Andre has described his method as scavenging for 'physical realities' and he has often sought inspiration in the city streets.
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[@robradical7213]

Sorry Carl, we haven't forgotten about your little secret. And we never will. Your legacy will forever be tainted by the blood on your hands.

[@angelalewis4213]

absolutely!

[@apr8189]

Wo ist Ana, Karl?

[@merleaumerleau]

Rest in Power Ana Mendieta

[@phdra8283]

There are many reasons and facts about the case that would lead people to believe he is a guilty man! It’s not random or uneducated to believe he is guilty. His testimony and story continuously doesn’t add up or sometimes match he changed his claims TWICE! Also Ana was NOT suicidal and was actually heard by many friends and other artist that she was very happy and excited for the future, so the chances of her randomly jumping of a literal building doesn’t make sense! This is why we believe he is guilty!! I wish she was still alive

[@trianglebook3616]

An immigrant woman in the eighties of course the American court would prefer a white man over a Cuban woman, justice for Ana

[@floatblue8588]

Carl Andre should not be praised for anything!!!! Where is Ana Mendieta?!

[@ericswain4177]

Controversy, Violence, Greed, Power, Notoriety = $$$$$$$ The Tate knows this ! Welcome to the world of Art

[@dianacabreja788]

WHERE IS ANA MENDIETA!?

[@carolcarosone9324]

Killing someone doesn't means anything needer in world of art. #whereisAnaMendieta

[@juliacastro7702]

DONDE ESTA ANA MENDIETA

[@amybravo1975]

Ana para siempre 🌹

[@phdra8283]

Where is Ana Mendieta?

[@skullyman409]

human souls dont mean anything to Carl Andre

[@segmentsAndCurves]

I mean it's not.

[@angelalewis4213]

Shameful that the Tate gives him a platform. I suppose they are trying to justify their horrific investment. His art is meaningless. He knows it, maybe that is why he felt it was acceptable to murder a much better artist than he could ever be. Disgusting. He should be behind bars arranging prison napkins

[@SarahGlassFlores]

Love this

[@kikeheebchinkjigaboo6631]

That Carl dude killed that feminist artist

[@benjaminishere]

Joe Rodriguez can literally anyone on earth besides andre himself give the proof of that though? Until then, what? Would the case's conclusion have been already forgotten about if she wasn't an important feminist art art figure? Why would he kill her?

[@sapphic_sleeper]

​​@@benjaminishere He had scratches on his face, Ana had defensive wounds on her hands, and neighbors heard Ana scream "no!" before she supposedly fell. Men have been killing their partners (and just women in general) for millennia; why are you so sure he didn't?

[@benjaminishere]

@sapphic_sleeper I agree with you now that comment was from 5 years ago

[@dannycardenas1891]

Donde esta Ana Mendieta!??

[@06icebat]

Thanks Tate but he also killed Ana Mendieta!!! Maybe it's time to get her work out of your archives

[@JoseLizasoain]

06icebat how do you know?

[@hunterfigueiredo1793]

@Ken MacDonald i don't think it's really fair to judge him based on a transcript of a phone call that's that vague, especially since he was acquitted

[@kikeheebchinkjigaboo6631]

Hunter Figueiredo lots of money paid to his Jewish lawyer artist.

[@elleb6594]

@@hunterfigueiredo1793 Something tells me you'd think the opposite of OJ Simpson. He was acquitted too 🤔

[@StephenYuan]

Carl Andre's entire approach to life and art seems like an evasion of thought and meaning. I suppose emptying your mind of anything but blank geometric shapes is what some people have to do to live with themselves and the things they've done. Vacuity as a kind of survival strategy.

[@9ertsch]

I think he's trying to avoid, and to get others to avoid, the old, over-used ways of thinking, and the traditional search for meaning. As Ad Reinhardt repeatedly tried to underline, art should be 'art-y'; it shouldn't allude to or 'lean on' architecture or theatre or music or literature or 'the cinematic', or be seen as social commentary or psychological exploration (people are welcome to take issue with that position, but it's a fairly thoughtful one from which to proceed). I don't think he's any sort of 'zen' artist in the accepted sense either, and I think that the geometrical nature of the materials he works with isn't an important factor - the fact that identically dimensioned, straight-sided units fit harmoniously together without the fuss of nailing or screwing or gluing or welding is the main thing; and that they can easily be put up/taken down and moved (you can tell his work doesn't wave any kind of flag for programmatic geometry and uninflected surfaces, as the work of the De Stijl group does, say). I think he likes the way art objects finally exist in the world with material obduracy, regardless of any blether they provoke. You have a private, personal experience with what's there, and the space and time created by it, and good luck trying to share or 'explain' what you've experienced to anyone else! An advanced artist (you sometimes forget to bear in mind how radical the idea of low-slung, ground-hugging sculpture must've seemed when he started making it; some of the key 'land' artists - Smithson, Heizer - were influenced by this aspect, and developed work from it), whose works can be quite sensuous, despite their austere or workaday means; and I like how modest and 'quiet' most of his things are; they never 'shout' or 'wave' at you when you enter the room. (Apologies for waffling!)

[@blacknwhitesalright]

Carl Andre murdered Ana Mendieta.

[@lazerwolf001]

DONDE ESTA ANA?

[@garden2571]

Carl, where is ana mendieta?

[@spikeasri3341]

where is ana mendieta?

[@apr8189]

wo ist Ana?

[@donovanvprose]

seems the wrong artist went out the window.

[@raincatz4512]

such a good comment goddammit :))

[@francoisona]

WOW I wish I could love this comment!

[@cohencohen54]

What else happened in that apartment ?

[@cheuklamng1]

Ana mendieta's murder?

[@jodyanablacklawrey535]

cheuklamng1 YUP !

[@meonlybro]

Fuck you feminist

[@diaotichaze3540]

Wheres ana

[@juliaguerin]

In the french subtitles it say "quand les enfants apprennent à lire, ils commencent à faire de l'art", but it should be "arrêtent de faire de l'art". In English he say "stop", not "start". And the meaning is not the same at all.

[@dannyf3135]

No offense to the Art Community as I am not an artist but how the F is this ART? Is it the explanation or story behind it that makes it attractive? Anybody could do the stuff he did or does. Well maybe not anybody could kill their wife and get away with it. Sad

[@345mrse]

The work, like many of that era breaks down European rationalization projected upon an illusion of an image and renders such to be devoid of superfluous meaning (Patriotic/Jingoistic/ Allegorical/ Symbolism/ Religious); Modernism/Post-Modernism either liberated from or perverted or consumed (depending upon a point-of-view) visually aesthetic conventions and formalist tradition and structure (ex.: pedestals for a horse and rider statue) that were applied in and up through the 19th century. As an example C. Andre said in this video that he doesn't attach the components (squares/1:31) to each other while sculptors prior to that and currently still use a mass of material to transform into recognized imagery. C. Andre remarks about not being a studio or atelier artist in the conventional sense but he'a a Movie Studio or Location artist (site-specifics/ 0:38); C. Andre explains about some children beginning to make art when starting to read in childhood because now something has to mean something (2:49). For many Modern and Minimalist artists the aesthetic beauty lay in the material itself, seemingly without ulterior meaning. C. Andre comments that he doesn't layout his preconceptions in linear contexts anymore; he seems to improvise in the space because of the spatial information or awareness provided to him from being in that exact context.

[@dannyf3135]

@@345mrse Wow, you have definitely answered a lot of the questions I had regarding Minimalism and Carl Andre particularly. Thanks for the informative response. Thanks again I appreciate the response

[@345mrse]

@@dannyf3135 No problem. I'm not entirely certain of the accuracy of every detail in my comment but to me it's like if every popular band played the same song, the same way, with the same instruments over and over and over again; then along comes a group of others doing it differently but categorizing their music as the same as the previous musical bands. It's when someone declares that they like an artwork and another asks "Why?" and they say "I don't know. It's pretty." or 'Dynamic." or "It makes me feel happy." Then that snob may regard the other as inferior because the other has not provided a contention to support their preference.

[@JVMBeatz]

People who believe themselves capable of creating a work of art, but without possessing the true gift, are especially prone to the temptation to produce something cheap. Unfortunately, they have a talent for finding cheap solutions, and they succeed brilliantly in producing cheap things. It moves us to protest. Even if it is accompanied by seemingly intriguing explanations, we nevertheless find it oppressive. After a while, it becomes definitely boring.

[@gonzalodiazcuevas9412]

How strange that many ask where Ana Mendieta is. I think the question to ask this dark guy is, what did you do to Ana Mendieta?

[@jon780249]

The phrase ‘where is Ana Mendieta?’ refers to the protests about the suppression or marginalization of her work, while Carl Andre’s continues to be exhibited, despite the allegations that he was responsible for her death. It was used by protesters at several major shows of Andre’s work.Put bluntly, it is a slogan meant to point to the double ‘violence’ of her alleged murder and then the ignoring of her work. The wider point beyond this that the term refers to is why are so many women artists of the past are simply forgotten?

[@Lupinthe3rd.]

Carl Andre I feel for his work I have about 34 stories about that I think I will go to the deli for dinner

[@ferrencebeeb]

Many people decided Carl Andre was too important to the art world & minimalist movement to be sent to jail.

[@dianaorduna2462]

Dónde está Ana Mendieta?

[@NABloisROTH]

Silly Carl. "Art doesn't mean anything" is itself a meaning.

[@ericswain4177]

Hes right his "Works of Art Don't Mean Anything" and about publicity it is a big part of what artist who want to be recognized and herd for there communication in there ART. Bad publicity is better than no publicity, that's good ! Lol.

[@adriantheabstract]

Are you fucking kidding me?

[@chairchalk]

thanks again for the introduction and the heavy lifting

[@ultraali453]

hmm, so getting a reaction out of people was his goal, even if it is the art gallery equivalent of clickbait

[@johnbrocado1083]

You killed somebody!

[@almostfancyconnoisseur8929]

his beard means something...it's a shy beard looking down at the floor

[@parathink]

The Tate can do better. To start, read the comments.

[@Bhebyvlogs]

Done from Jheron Tv

Asesinar mujeres no significa nada.

[@Icreatemore]

I've seen his work along with a lot of others but he is the only one I remember. Why is that?

[@PaletaLee]

if youre a woman, its probably some ancestral instinct for self preservation. surely

[@PaletaLee]

like your brains telling you "you or the women around you with him is in danger"

[@tonyamcnair5987]

I can’t believe anybody calls this Art. You and I could do this. I mean it.

[@douglaspouch5313]

Most people would be too scared to do anything like this.

[@ericmalone3213]

Works of art don't mean anything? Carl Andre doesn't mean anything. Ana Mendieta sends her regards.

[@evelynramos445]

Fell out of a window

[@evelynramos445]

His partner held out a window

[@rabahelaawar2499]

From an art perspective, I admire his work, just like I admire the work of other Minimalists, and I also find it very evocative, in contrary to many of the baseless comments that I had read over here - I kindly request you to get some proper art education before firing out a comment with ignorance. Everyone is entitled to say I like this and I dislike that, but you cannot strip art out of its reality. Everything falls under art. As for the Ana Mendieta 'murder', there are so many unanswered and inconclusive matters about the judge's verdict on the case. We still do not know what really happened, and perhaps Carl himself should reiterate the story, so the case could be revisited or reopened if possible. Can any gallery or museum out there try to give this issue more spotlight too, please?

[@bddsbr99]

Shame on you. carl. If you weren't a man, you'd already be in jail.

[@antilocust]

Yea, there aren’t any men in the prison system 🙄

[@trianglebook3616]

Just apologize for killing her

[@vandolmatzis8146]

ultimate hipster beard

[@chunches]

killer

[@emeraldeyes9565]

The quest of modern art for the new and original seems to have burnt itself out. Even the idea that 'anything can be art' is looking pretty tired these days. A similar thing has happened in music. Perhaps as they say all good things come to an end.

[@Gulfstreams]

Naw, completely disagree. The immaterial is a reminder that there is much still to discover and wonder.

[@RR-ob8ze]

His arts kinda lame tbh murderer or not his shhhts weak

[@evelynramos445]

Minimalism

[@JonteTheArtist]

Some might not understand this type of art. This guy is interesting and the way he explains and expressed himself. Some may see it as just a bunch of bricks or just a floor with squares but its way more. 💗

[@sebastianmelmoth685]

Twaddle.

[@sapphic_sleeper]

He can rot. Rest in power, Ana. Shame on Tate for promoting a violent misogynist who committed femicide.

[@kasemahasema]

Carl Andre :(

[@kerryb9033]

So I probably shouldn’t tell people he’s my great uncle????

[@jackpavlik563]

Prolly not

[@dormaettu302]

Love these series about great artist.

[@77777aol]

The brick guy ! Nice to put Andre's interesting face to those bricks.

[@MyDenis0]

GENIUS OH MY GOD.

[@Elegant_Sausage]

B.S. artist more like

[@hinkeeleveld4160]

making art out of bricks is really breaking down the wall between art and reality. Love it!

[@kikeheebchinkjigaboo6631]

hinke eleveld boring

[@kangaroosport5566]

Amish David Byrne

[@jackpavlik563]

Boom

[@peaoat3608]

Most negative comments are hard to read due to the poor grammar. Big surprise!

[@PaletaLee]

pea oat, you should wear your glasses otherwise you will be soaking in a bowl of nonsense. "oh sir, was my letter written accordantly with the refined english structures? yes? no? fuck."

[@benjaminishere]

Jacqueline Gomez grammar is construct of language, all of them

[@lmadaus]

bad grammar is basically post-structuralist slang

[@robertterrell3065]

@Jacqueline Gomez HAHAHA This is just plain dum (not how anybody who can spell diddly spells "dumb" but I saw it here, and I'm hoping to become initiated into the ranks of the non-colonialismites !! :) Where sign up do I do it the signing? hahaha

[@doubleslit3389]

The art is strong.

[@stryd3rassassin]

Poor excuse for a bunch rubbish....

[@cacambo1120]

Your "art" don't mean anything...

[@goomywurm]

uh yeah that's the point

[@meonlybro]

He's my grandma's brother

[@GranPepo]

oh wow. great piece of information.

[@atmakali9599]

I hate all this crap. All these so called artists talking utter crap. They’d be better off in a mental asylum. He actually admits he’s nothing but a desperate attention seeker. Go get a job.

[@riley-zi1ju]

murderer

[@goldylockgoldylocks3772]

borenig

[@lenafan492]

Seems like a decent, likeable guy, and a very talented artist

[@robradical7213]

A decent, likeable, murderer.

[@hanssvoboda]

also he killed his wife.

[@teamplay5847]

You are incredibly fyckin stupid for saying that about a murderer. You are evil.

[@blacknwhitesalright]

He murdered Ana Mendieta.

[@patgee4574]

no , YOUR And fellow Modern Art communists works of art don't mean anything except reversing good.

[@benjaminishere]

Pat Gee what is "reversing good" in this case?

[@techwoo]

Where is Ana Mendieta?

[@ninadubois2842]

Where is Ana Mendieta?

[@vardaartistsresidency651]

Where is Ana Mendieta?