What is Installation Art — Definition, Examples & Artists

What is Installation Art 

First, let’s define installation art

Meaningful installation art can range in scale, concept, and even material. Despite these differences piece to piece, it's important to understand the installation art definition.

Artist Sol LeWitt, as noted in the video above summarizes the art form eloquently. “In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work… The idea becomes the machine that makes the art.”  

This principle that "the idea" is the driving force behind a work of art is also found throughout installation art. Whether the idea is specific and distinct or an exercise that requires participation, it is the idea of experience that drives an installation piece. 

In 1958, the term “environment” was used by artist Allan Kaprow to describe his work in which a room and viewer participation were required within the piece. While installation art is not unique in its focus on ideas and concepts like conceptual art, it distinguishes itself in the way it engages a viewer. 

FAMOUS INSTALLATION ART

What makes installation art unique

Installation art distinguishes itself from other mediums such as film, paintings, and sculpture by how it involves the viewer. Artist Olafur Eliasson brilliantly makes this point by calling the viewer of an installation piece the “Protagonist.” The work of art depends on a viewer’s participation. One of the best examples of this is Eliasson’s work “Beauty” (1993).

Eliasson created a rainbow from a mist of water and light. However, the rainbow also depended on the angle of the eye of the viewer. The rainbow was totally dependent on the viewer and where they were in the room.

Installation art has is one of the most experiential art mediums that requires active participation from a viewer to attempt to understand a work. Eliasson goes as far as to call a viewer of his work a “participant.” 

Famous Installation Art

Iconic art installations

This art is a medium that can make a lasting impression on a viewer or participant. A concept, story, or simply a feeling can linger in the mind of a viewer long after leaving the installation. To understand this, let’s take a look at some iconic art installations that have led to conversations about the concepts to this day. 

The New York City’s Waterfalls by Olafur Eliasson (2008)

Olafur Eliasson’s The New York City’s Waterfalls (2008) is one of the most iconic mobile installations. Installation art that is meant to be showcased in various geographical locations will be made to be disassembled and reassembled. This makes it “mobile.” 

Artists take mobile installations city to city or even country to country. In this video, Eliasson explains how the movement of water across space presents scale.

For this reason, he utilized the same sized waterfall in various spaces in New York to give scale to New York’s most iconic spaces. 

Yard by Allan Kaprow (1961)

Yard by Allan Kaprow is arguably one of the trailblazing installation pieces that marked a new era of art. Kaprow filled the exterior yard of New York’s Martha Jackson Gallery with black rubber tires. Participants were encouraged to play, run, jump, and frolic across the tires.

Yard was a manifestation of Kaprow’s approach to his work which aimed closer toward reality and ordinary life than anything else. Kaprow put it best saying, “Life is much more interesting than art. The line between art and life should be kept as fluid, and perhaps indistinct, as possible.”

Infinity Mirrored Room – The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away by Yayoi Kusama (2013)

Out of all of Yayoi Kusama’s works, she is perhaps most notably known for the creation of ‘Infinity Rooms.’ In these installations, Kusama lines the walls, ceilings and floors with mirrors. She then fills them with various types of lights, colors, and refractive materials such as chandeliers and glass. This in combination with the mirrors give the participants a sensation of infinity.

Kusama has created various ‘Infinity Rooms’ that have been exhibited around the world. Below is The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away, an installation that conjures up the experience of drifting off into the vast, infinite universe. 

As you can see from these examples, installation art has the unique ability to provide a physical manifestation of concept while simultaneously affecting a participant emotionally and sensationally. Its lack of any true restrictions has led to some of the most iconic and creative works of art in history.