Two exhibitions this spring have powerfully belied the artworld pretense that all contemporary art is in an anti-traditional “cutting-edge” vein. And unlike the contemporary work that fills today’s leading museums and galleries, they offer art lovers something to rejoice in. The smaller of the two shows is Self-Portrait (April 20 – June 20)—at the Eleventh Street […]
Fake Art—the Rauschenberg Phenomenon
The phenomenon of fake news is on everyone’s lips in the realm of politics these days, but the equivalent of fake art in the contemporary artworld has yet to be adequately reckoned with. Google the term and you’ll find ample news of forgeries—work imitating that by famous artists and passed off as actually by them. […]
anti-art, Combines, Erased de Kooning Drawing, fake art, fake news, Leah Dickerman, MoMA, Monogram, RauschenbergLively NAEA Debate on ‘Who Says That’s Art?’
“Resolved that there is much useful to be learned from Kamhi’s 2014 book, and that this book can be profitably read and studied by art educators at any level of their professional development.” That resolution—proposed by Distinguished NAEA Fellow David Pariser—prompted lively debate at the 2017 conference of the National Art Education Association in New […]
academic debate, Amy Brook Snider, Anna Kindler, Art21, David A. Pariser, Elizabeth Murray, filter bubble, Joe Fusaro, Kevin Tavin, Lorrie Blair, NAEAValentin Who?—A Neglected French Master Spotlighted at the Met
Valentin who? Valentin de Boulogne (1591–1632), that’s who! But I must confess that I had never heard of this masterly painter before the landmark exhibition now at the Met, though I’ve been studying art history for more than half a century.1 Valentin achieved no small fame in his lifetime, however. Ranked high among the followers […]
17th-century painting, Annick Lemoine, Beyond Caravaggio, Caravaggio, Counter Reformation art, Keith Christiansen, Louvre, Metropolitan Museum, Valentin de Boulogne“See something, say something” Redux
Last weekend’s terrorist events in New York City have again reminded me of the dangerous folly of some in academia who purport to be art educators. In a blog post last December on the horrific terrorist attack in San Bernardino, I referred to “art educator” Kevin Tavin, now Professor of International Art Education at Aalto […]
art education, Kevin Tavin, see something say somethingHow NOT to Be an Arts Advocate
Google my first and last name with the words “art education” and the first item you will find dubs me “The Joe McCarthy of Art Education.”1 Which prompts me to respond at this late date to that scurrilous blog post written in 2010. The author, Richard Kessler, then headed The Center for Arts Education—a non-profit […]
art education, arts advocacy, avant-garde, Joe McCarthy of art education, John Cage, Mannes College of Music, Mark Morris, Merce Cunningham, politicizing art, Richard Kessler, social justice in educationHealthy Debate in Academia
When a Pulitzer-winning New York Times journalist noted for his own “progressive” views laments liberal intolerance on college campuses, we can be sure it’s not just a figment of conservatives’ “paranoid” imagination.1 Nor is it limited to the U.S. All the more reason to laud academics who have had the courage and integrity to defy the […]
'Who Says That's Art', academic debate, David A. Pariser, intellectual diversity, Laurel Lampela, liberal intolerance, Michael Emme, Richard A. CigankoJousting with Mark Rothko’s Son
Christopher Rothko—the highly affable son of the famed not-so-affable Abstract Expressionist painter Mark Rothko (1903-1970)—has written a volume of essays lovingly re-examining his father’s life and work. Entitled Mark Rothko: From the Inside Out, it was published last November by Yale University Press, and its author has been promoting it with a passion inspired by […]
abstract art, Christopher Rothko, Mark Rothko, modern art, Rothko ChapelBarking Up the Wrong Trees in Art Education
What’s being taught in art classrooms these days? Lacking a comprehensive survey, I can’t offer a definitive answer to that question. But I can point to some prominent examples that should trouble anyone who regards visual art as a potent component of civilization and thus an important part of children’s general education. Abstract Art 101 […]
Alex Garant, art education, contemporary art, Mark Rothko, Michael BeitzMet Rooftop Folly: Cornelia Parker’s ‘PsychoBarn’
Every year around this time, the Metropolitan Museum of Art trots out its conception of “contemporary art,” in a specially commissioned work for its rooftop terrace. This year’s example is an architectural installation entitled PsychoBarn, by the British artworld star Cornelia Parker—“whose work is in museums around the world,” notes the New York Times. In […]
Cornelia Parker, Met rooftop, PsychoBarn