In 1968 Wiener created a work for an outdoor exhibition at an American university. He made a series of stakes set in the ground at regular intervals to form a rectangle - twine strung from stake to stake to demark a grid. When students cut down the twine because it hampered their access across the campus lawn, Weiner realized that his piece could have been even less obtrusive: viewers could have experienced the same effect simply by reading a verbal description of the work.

His explication for this, first published in 1968 and still relevant today, revolutionized the very definition of what constitutes an artwork: “(1) The artist may construct the piece. (2) The piece may be fabricated. (3) The piece need not be built”.

Meaning a work can be physically realized, but can also be merely spelled out on a museum wall, be read on a website or heard if uttered aloud.

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