“One and Three Shovels” is an artwork created by Joseph Kosuth in 1965, a significant piece within the Conceptual Art movement, and classified under the genre of installation art.
The artwork features a shovel in three distinct forms: a physical shovel mounted on the wall, a photograph of the same shovel, and a textual definition of the word “shovel” displayed on a panel. The physical object, photograph, and definition collectively engage the viewer in a dialogue about the nature of representation, language, and reality, challenging the traditional notions of art and its communication. The juxtaposition of these three manifestations underscores the conceptual inquiry into the relationship between objects and their meanings within linguistic and visual contexts.
