Recent Comments
Re: “Art criticism must die”
One thought with my coffee
The print version of this article ran with the double headline "Art criticism must die" ... "And be reborn as a dynamic, interactive conversation"
The seemingly one-sided slant of Cinque's argument is probably part of what people are reacting to here. I'm thankful the comments help clear up how complex the issue is.
(Is it funny that I'm the editor of BURNAWAY, and I still find Cinque's articles primarily through the physical paper ...? Ha!)
Re: “High anxiety”
I'm sorry. I appreciate the sentiment ... but this idea that Beep Beep Gallery, or even the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, can sufficiently fill the void left out by the High is kind of ridiculous.
This characterization is also misguided: that big museums are bound to an "audience that is for the most part unfamiliar with, and perhaps adverse to, contemporary art." Don't undersell your audience! Don't undersell yourselves!!
Why does this have to about good art OR popular art. Why can't it be good AND popular?? This sort of binary thinking is blinkered and totally unfit for what we want Atlanta art to be: dynamic, innovative, and, above all, generous.
The under-30s crowd tends to idolize the West Coast. Well, watch this documentary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDRcXgdiZtQ
about how Los Angeles started becoming an important art town for living artists. (It's on NetFlix.) BUT pay attention to the second half; the rock-and-roll glitter is only part of the story. Ferus Gallery did not operate in a vacuum; the Pasadena Art Museum was vital to the process, becoming "the most radical museum in the country." It was the town that threw Andy Warhol's first retrospective -- in 1962, which at the time was completely razor-edge contemporary art. Museums must be a part of this picture.
Sure, we like seeing art at Beep Beep and ACAC, but large institutions have resources way beyond what you can muster.
This is how we show our optimism. This is how we show our faith in Atlanta's creative potential. We show our respect for the museum's mission by criticizing its management and asking it to do more.
Re: “Art criticism must die”
One thought with my coffee
The print version of this article ran with the double headline "Art criticism must die" ... "And be reborn as a dynamic, interactive conversation"
The seemingly one-sided slant of Cinque's argument is probably part of what people are reacting to here. I'm thankful the comments help clear up how complex the issue is.
Fun fact: I'm the editor of BURNAWAY.org, and I still read the newspaper. I love it and think it's a good product. No hate here. Just now we need to think of ways adapting and, as in some of the examples above, truly thriving in new media as well.
Thanks as always, Cinque, for timely discussion topics.