What has happened to art criticism?
In his Spiked article, What has happened to art criticism?, J.J. Charlesworth investigates the decline of art criticism over the past 30 or so odd years. He misses professional, culturally alert, independent, and historically informed criticism. Criticism has been replaced by what he calls ‘art writing.’ Art writing is that amorphous, subjective, non-judgmental style one sees everywhere in the art
‘Works of art may be offensive”
I read this laugh-out-loud piece in the NY Times. The blog post by Jeffrey Kindley is directed toward the college-age population of delicate hothouse plants who require trigger warnings on art and other cultural artifacts. Columbia university students who found Ovid’s Metamorphosis ‘offensive and triggering’ provide a recent example. Surrounded by Disturbing Art Read moreCleveland Museum
Movie review: Nightcrawler
For an artist, Nightcrawler is a fascinating movie. Nightcrawler, released in 2014 and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, is about a bottom feeder, Lou Bloom (Gyllenhaal), who discovers the world of crime scene photo-journalism. Bloom, armed with an internet account and google, is an autodidact who envisions himself an entrepreneur. As the movie opens, Bloom uses his
Finished ‘Garth and Daryl Talking’
I finally got Garth and Daryl Talking to the ‘finishing stage’ and lite the rocket. I determined to finish the painting in a single day, but after a day-long marathon it wasn’t done, so I followed with a half-day session and finally finished it. Garth and Daryl Talking is 42″ x 68″. I build my own stretchers for
In the studio 4/25/15
This is a pretty good photo of the unfinished Heated Discussion. It’s at the ‘get it finished any day now’ stage. I enjoy working on details but sometimes I give them too much attention. The stuff in the background is too strong–too busy. Secondary motifs can be jarring when they spill outside their intended place and