Robert Irwin began his career in the 1950s as an abstract painter, but became one of the pioneer of the "Light and Space" movement in Los Angeles in the 1970s and early 1980s. His innovative experiments focused on the direct exploration of aesthetic perception as the fundamental feature of art, moving toward an art based on response and dialogue and culminating in what he terms "conditional art" or "site-conditioned work." In addition to being a prolific artist, Irwin has been an active and engaged writer throughout his career. Notes toward a Conditional Art is the first book devoted to the writings of this seminal post-war American artists. Fully half of the texts, which span a period from the mid-1960s through the 1990s, are published here for the very first time. Including letters, statements, project proposals, and essays, this book offers the reader an overview of Irwin's unique perspective within the broad discourse of post-war American art, making available a dimension of his artistic practice that has until now remained largely inaccessible. Book jacket.