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{{Short description|Conceptual artwork by Michael Craig-Martin}}
{{italic title}}
[[Image:An Oak Tree (conceptual art installation).jpg|thumb|300px|''An Oak Tree'' by [[Michael Craig-Martin]]. 1973]]
'''''An Oak Tree''''' is a conceptual [[work of art]]<ref>[http://www.modernart.ie/en/page_135922.htm Irish Museum of Modern Art Website] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090521121506/http://www.modernart.ie/en/page_135922.htm |date=May 21, 2009 }} modernart.ie</ref> created by [[Michael Craig-Martin]] (born 1941) in 1973. The piece, described as
[[File:2021 Ancient Oak from Drnava SK.jpg|thumb|A full-grown [[oak tree]]]]
The text takes the form of a Q&A about the artwork, in which Craig-Martin describes changing "a glass of water into a full-grown oak tree without altering the [[accident (philosophy)|accidents]] of the glass of water," and explains that "the actual oak tree is physically present but in the form of the glass of water."
Craig-Martin considered "the work of art in such a way as to reveal its single basic and essential element, belief that is the confident faith of the artist in his capacity to speak and the willing faith of the viewer in accepting what he has to say".<ref name=manchester/>
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==Artwork==
[[File:An Oak Tree (conceptual art installation) - detail.jpg|thumb|An Oak Tree]]
''An Oak Tree'' is a [[work of art]] created by [[Michael Craig-Martin]] in 1973, and is now exhibited with the accompanying text, originally issued as a leaflet.<ref name=bery/> The text is in red print on white; the object is a French [[Duralex]] glass, which contains water to a level stipulated by the artist and which is located on a glass shelf, whose ideal height is 253 centimetres with matte grey-painted brackets screwed to the wall.<ref name=bery/> The text is behind glass and is fixed to the wall with four bolts.<ref name=bery/> Craig-Martin has stressed that the components should maintain a pristine appearance and in the event of deterioration, the brackets should be resprayed and the glass and shelf even replaced.<ref name=bery/>
The text contains a [[semiotic]] argument
The impossible is deliberately asserted and the text examines the impossibility of the assertion, which uses the idea of [[transubstantiation]] in the same way as the [[Roman Catholic|Catholic]] religious belief that bread and wine, while maintaining an unchanged appearance, are changed into [[Jesus Christ|Christ]]'s body and blood.<ref name=manchester/> Craig-Martin has a Catholic background<ref>Crane, Charlie. [
Part of ''An Oak Tree''<nowiki/>'s inspiration was Craig-Martin attempting to figure out what "the essence of a work of art" was, which he decided was "[[suspension of disbelief]]".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jeffries |first=Stuart |date=2011-05-04 |title=Michael Craig-Martin: Up close and impersonal |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2011/may/04/michael-craig-martin |access-date=2024-06-29 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The work was also a turning point in his artistic development: prior to it his concern had been deconstruction, and afterwards he was "trying to put the pieces together again."<ref name=manchester/> Subsequently, using the rationale of [[Marcel Duchamp]]'s ''[[Fountain (Duchamp)|Fountain]]'', he worked with drawings of utilitarian objects and flat areas of colour, with the goal of discarding meaning, which is "both persistent and unstable", although he states that people's need to create associations and meanings makes this goal unachievable.<ref name=manchester/>
==History==
''An Oak Tree'' was first shown in an exhibition of Craig-Martin's work at the Rowan Gallery, off [[Bond Street]], London, in 1974.<ref name=manchester/><ref name=cork>Cork, Richard. [http://www.newstatesman.com/200610090033 "Losing our vision"], ''[[New Statesman]]'', 9 October 2006. Retrieved 11 November 2008.</ref> Many visitors assumed that Craig-Martin was playing the ultimate con trick, as there seemed no evidence of work on display in the white-walled gallery.<ref name=cork/> However, high up on a wall was the glass of water and the glass shelf of the work ''An Oak Tree''.<ref name=cork/> At this time the accompanying text was available as a leaflet.<ref name=manchester/>
The original was purchased by the [[National Gallery of Australia]] in Canberra in 1977; an artist's copy
Craig-Martin said, "''An Oak Tree'' has had a great life as an artwork. It is nearly always on view somewhere, and has been shown all over the world—the text has been translated into at least 20 languages. The only place it has never been shown is in the US."<ref name=sherwin/>
It was once barred by Australian officials from entering the country as "vegetation".<ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3724/is_/ai_n9313373/ Damien, the oak tree and me]. ''Spectator'', Dec 27, 2003 by Bidgood, Jonathan</ref><ref>http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-112411749/damien-oak-tree-and.html {{dead link|date=January 2022}}</ref> Craig-Martin was forced to inform them that it was really a glass of water. He said, "It was of course a wonderfully funny incident, particularly because it extended into 'real life' the discussion about belief and doubt, and fact and fiction I was addressing in the work."<ref name=sherwin/>
An artist's copy was shown by [[Gagosian Gallery]] at [[Frieze_Art_Fair#Frieze_Masters_Art_Fair_2021|Frieze Masters]] 2021 art fair in London.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gagosian.com/fairs/2021/10/06/frieze-masters-art-fair-material-process/|title = Frieze Masters 2021|date = 6 October 2021}}</ref>
“An Oak Tree” was first shown in Asia in May 2022 at the [[Seoul Arts Center|Hangaram Art Museum]] in southern [[Seoul]], in Craig-Martin's solo retrospective “Here and Now.”<ref>{{cite web | url=https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/05/08/culture/artsDesign/korea-michael-craigmartin-exhibition/20220508140608370.html | title=It's all about give and take for Michael Craig-Martin | date=8 May 2022 }}</ref>
==Critical reaction==
''An Oak Tree'' is a celebrated artwork,<ref name="Hubbart">[[Sue Hubbard]]. [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/reviews/michael-craigmartin-a-is-for-umbrella-gagosian-gallery-london-764282.html "A is for Umbrella"], ''[[The Independent]]'', 11 December 2007. Retrieved 4 October 2008.</ref> which the [[Irish Museum of Modern Art]] says is now recognised as a turning point in the development of [[conceptual art]], although initially it was met with surprise, if not scorn.<ref>{{citation | title= Michael Craig-Martin at the Irish Museum of Modern Art | publisher=ARTINFO | date= October 5, 2006| url=http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/21219/michael-craig-martin-at-the-irish-museum-of-modern-art/ | accessdate=2008-04-23 }}</ref> It has been described as "questioning the nature of reality."<ref name=Hubbart/>
The ''[[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]]'' states that "to fail to consider it a great work of art because it fails to give rise to a distinctively aesthetic kind of pleasure does not actually undermine the project at all. [[Conceptual art]], as we now know, is about conveying meaning through a vehicular medium, and not to provide its audience with experiences of, say, beauty. Any attack on this fundamental feature of conceptual art targets not so much an individual
In his [[Richard Dimbleby Lecture]] on 23 November 2000, Sir [[Nicholas Serota]] said, "We may not 'like' Craig-Martin's work, but it certainly reminds us that the appreciation of all art involves an act of faith comparable to the belief that, through [[transubstantiation]], the bread and wine of Holy Communion become the body and blood of Christ."<ref>
▲The ''[[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]]'' states that "to fail to consider it a great work of art because it fails to give rise to a distinctively aesthetic kind of pleasure does not actually undermine the project at all. Conceptual art, as we now know, is about conveying meaning through a vehicular medium, and not to provide its audience with experiences of, say, beauty. Any attack on this fundamental feature of conceptual art targets not so much an individual piece but the artform as such."<ref>Schellekens, Elisabeth. "[http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2008/entries/conceptual-art/ Conceptual Art]". ''The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (Fall 2008 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.)</ref>
[[Damien Hirst]] said, "That piece is, I think, the greatest piece of conceptual sculpture, I still can't get it out of my head."<ref>Michael Craig-Martin [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/11/24/sm_michaelcraigmartin.xml&page=2 Out of the ordinary]{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}. Telegraph Magazine, 24 November 2007]</ref>
▲In his [[Richard Dimbleby Lecture]] on 23 November 2000, Sir [[Nicholas Serota]] said, "We may not 'like' Craig-Martin's work, but it certainly reminds us that the appreciation of all art involves an act of faith comparable to the belief that, through [[transubstantiation]], the bread and wine of Holy Communion become the body and blood of Christ."<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/theres-no-need-to-be-afraid-of-the-present-625001.html The Independent]</ref>
[[Anthony Caro]] said, "Some of the stuff that's called art is just damned stupid. I mean, 'That glass of water's an oak tree' kind of thing."<ref>Campbell, James. [https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2005/jan/08/art2 "Heavy metal pioneer"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 8 January 2005. Retrieved 5 November 2008.</ref> Art critic [[David Lee (art critic)|David Lee]] and the founders of the [[Stuckism]] art movement, [[Billy Childish]] and [[Charles Thomson (artist)|Charles Thomson]] also oppose it.<ref name=sherwin/>
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==Derivative works==
[[File:Tim crouch.jpg|thumb|Tim Crouch]]
[[Tim Crouch]] has written and performed [[Tim Crouch#An Oak Tree|an eponymous play]] to critical acclaim in New York and London.<ref>Gardner, Lyn. [https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2007/feb/10/theatre2 "An Oak Tree"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 10 February 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2008.</ref> [[The Little Artists]] (John Cake and Darren Neave) feature a Lego version in "Art Craziest Nation".<ref>[http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/exhibitions/littleartists/tree.asp "An Oak Tree"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210222523/http://liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/exhibitions/littleartists/tree.asp |date=2009-02-10 }}, [[Walker Art Gallery]], [[National Museums Liverpool]]. Retrieved 2 November 2008.</ref>
''An Oak Tree'' is quoted as an important influence in Ramsey Dukes' article ''Four Glasses of Water'' first published in ''The Journal for the Academic Study of Magic'' Issue 2, 2004.
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==External links==
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/johntusainterview/craig_transcript.shtml John Tusa Interview with Michael Craig-Martin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106060738/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/johntusainterview/craig_transcript.shtml |date=2009-01-06 }}
*[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0268/is_/ai_65071279 "Live In Your Head: Concept And Experiment In Britain, 1965-75" ArtForum, Summer, 2000 by James Meyer]
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[[Category:1973 sculptures]]
[[Category:Contemporary works of art]]
[[Category:Water in art]]
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