ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates through the analysis of some examples how philosophical research can illuminate the improvisational aspects of installation art. There is little philosophical research on improvisation in the visual arts. Three uses of the term “installation” can be distinguished within the art jargon: the first appears in expressions such as “curatorial installation” and “installation of (an) artwork(s),” which refer to the display of one or more artworks in a museum or other exhibition space. The second use appears in expressions such as “mixed-media installation” and “photographic installation,” which refer to sets of displayed objects (“mixed-media installation” refers to an artwork composed of objects in different media, such as paintings, sculptures, and videos, while “photographic installation” typically refers to a set of photographic artworks that have been intended by their maker for being put on show together). Finally, the third use appears in the expression “installation art.”.
