You don't have to know what great art is to appreciate the works displayed in a new exhibition at the Brigham Young University Museum of Art. On some levels, that may be the best way to approach "Turning Point: The Demise of Modernism and the Rebirth of Meaning in American Art," which opens today and will remain in place through Jan. 3.

Museum director Campbell Gray said that one of the important tenets of conceptual art, one of the forms explored in the exhibition, is that it rather literally is what you make of it. The role of conceptual art, Gray said, is to "help people create works of art in their minds."

"Turning Point" spans the shift in artistic styles from modernism to post-modernism that took place between 1960 and 1972. Or maybe there was no shift. "There are evidences that a change did occur," said Gray, "and evidences that, in some ways, nothing changed. We think that this is a very important moment to consider."

There are 31 pieces in the exhibition, which features abstract paintings by Modernists Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski, and Frank Stella. Some of the Minimalists represented are Ronald Bladen, Donald Judd and Robert Morris, while some of the conceptual works displayed were created by Terry Atkinson, Robert Berry, Ian Burn, Douglas Huebler, Joseph Kosuth, Mel Ramsden, Lawrence Weiner and Sol LeWitt. Other artists of note whose work is displayed are Jenny Holzer, Byron Kim, Marco Maggi, Maggie Michael and Georges Rousse.

Museum publicist Christopher Wilson said that only one of the works featured is owned by BYU, a large photograph by Rousse. The rest are on loan from other institutions -- among them the Addison Gallery of American Art in Andover, Mass.; the Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College in Ohio; the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art; the Smithsonian American Art Museum; and the National Gallery of Australia -- and, in a few select cases, from the artists themselves.

"Turning Point" also marks a small turning point for the Museum of Art itself. For the first time, BYU has created a cell phone audio tour to assist patrons. As you visit each work, you have the option of flipping open your cell phone and placing a quick call to listen to recorded information about the piece you're looking at.

Gray said that other museums have been using the technology for a number of years. "People may get to points here and there where they're struggling to understand the work," he said. "In some respects, it's like a help line. You dial a number and get a few more clues."SClBSClBIf you go

Turning Point: The Demise of Modernism and the Rebirth of Meaning in American Art

Where: Museum of Art, Brigham Young University, Provo

When: Today through Jan. 3 during normal visiting hours

Cost: Free

Info: moa.byu.edu, 422-8287