黑料社

Art Term

Deconstruction

Deconstruction is a form of criticism first used by French philosopher Jacques Derrida in the 1970s which asserts that there is not one single intrinsic meaning to be found in a work, but rather many, and often these can be conflicting

A deconstructive approach to criticism involves discovering, recognising and understanding the underlying and unspoken and implicit assumptions, ideas and frameworks of cultural forms such as works of art.

In Derrida鈥檚 book La V茅rit茅 en peinture (1978) he uses the example of Vincent van Gogh鈥檚 painting Old Shoes with Laces, arguing that we can never be sure whose shoes are depicted in the work, making a concrete analysis of the painting difficult.

Since Derrida鈥檚 assertions in the 1970s, the notion of deconstruction has been a dominating influence on many writers and conceptual artists.

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