Two senses of 'installation' -what does it mean to place a work of art?

The objective of this dissertation was to discover what it means to place a work of art. I based my hypothesis on definitions, not biased opinions, by asking the same four questions throughout my research. My key focus was to find the answers to these questions so as to discover the role of placement in art. `What does it mean to place an artwork?' `Does artwork translate to the area it is placed?' `Is said environment part of the artwork?' `How does the environment make the artwork change?' The first point in my research was to explore brief periods in history, examining the function of art and its placement throughout the ages. I then overviewed how the placement of art is presented in modern gallery space; unconventional space and installation. I discovered that where and how one places art will affect how it is perceived. I used sculpture to experiment with space by situating an object in various environments to gauge the effect of placement. I found it was more effective to produce a purposeful piece of artwork, rather than using an object to test the technical features of placement. This exercise evolved into creating my installations. By using this art practice, I hoped I could discover what it means to place a work of art. I reviewed my portfolio (installations) to understand how the purpose of the work affected placement. This, combined with my research on art function and placement throughout history, led me to my final conclusions. Art placement has developed new meaning from how it was perceived in previous eras and the way artwork is presented today translates to the space it resides. The function of an artwork defines how the placement affects it and the meaning of placement differs according to the viewer's individual perspective.