Symmetrical Jails, 2014

Luis Camnitzer was a pioneering conceptual artist who worked mostly in printmaking, sculpture, and installation of large art pieces. He also had plenty of material for a new art form he practiced of language. Luis Camnitzer transformed the use of language into an art form often using a stinging, humorous, politically charged foundation. He was born in Germany, grew up in Uruguay, and transplanted to New York, the United States. Having lived in three countries, he was influenced in such a way that his work often focused on social injustice and repression. He was often outspoken and criticized political institutions for lack of actual solutions to the problems of the masses. He made no apologies for his views, yet continued to call for social change. Luis Camnitzer along with two other artists, Argentinian Liliana Porter and Venezuelan Guillermo Castillo co-founded The New York Graphic Workshop which ran for the next year with a focus on trying to revolutionize the printmaking world. Perhaps one of Luis Camnitzer's more famous works his the use of the dictionary in his installation of Living Room where where he made the written word come alive.