Luis Camnitzer
1937–

A pioneer of Conceptual art, Luis Camnitzer has embraced his various roles as an artist, educator, critic, and historian. Born in Germany and raised in Uruguay, Camnitzer arrived in New York in 1964 and, together with Liliana Porter and José Guillermo Castillo, founded the New York Graphic Workshop, which explored new directions for the political, conceptual, and formal possibilities of printmaking. Camnitzer’s concerns have been the investigation of language; political and social upheavals in Latin America, particularly the atrocities of the Uruguayan dictatorship (1973–85); and the pedagogical functions of art and its display. These subjects follow Camnitzer’s belief that art should be a “mechanism . . . for the acquisition of knowledge” rather than “the production of objects.”

Camnitzer is particularly critical of the pressure the art market exerts on artists. In 1971 he conceived of selling his signature itself, priced by the inch—a witty, self- conscious comment on commodification and speculation (the price was set to compound over time). Sample includes three versions of the word sample accompanied by the price for each, set according to materials and hourly labor. Also given a valuation is the creative act, here defined as the amount of “art” or “concept” involved, as well as the artist’s handwriting; itemized values are provided for the entire work and its signature. In doing so, Camnitzer offers a humorous, biting account of the artist’s role in contemporary capitalist society.

Introduction

Luis Camnitzer (born November 6, 1937) is a German-born Uruguayan artist, curator, art critic, and academic who was at the forefront of 1960s Conceptual Art. Camnitzer works primarily in sculpture, printmaking, and installation, exploring topics such as repression, institutional critique, and social justice.