The post was originally published with the comment section open only to paid subscribers, which is the Substack default. I have opened it to all, which is my default. Sorry if there was any confusion.
I tend to suspect Danto was more into thinking about art than looking at it, and while he was entitled to whatever sort of philosophical masturbation suited him, that was his business, certainly not mine.
Danto lost me at his epiphany over Warhol's Brillo boxes, meaning he never had me and is of no interest to me, except a kind of clinical or anthropological interest. And yes, things have gone very seriously wrong with the arts, certainly with the art establishment, which I neither trust nor respect. However, disgusting and depressing though that is, it puts me where I always was anyway--at my own judgment and taste, my own understanding, and my own interaction with art objects as such. In other words, it's between me and the work, not critics or curators or museum people, let alone dealers, fairs, "major" collectors or the market. I do not feel bewildered or confused; I feel freely like myself.
The post was originally published with the comment section open only to paid subscribers, which is the Substack default. I have opened it to all, which is my default. Sorry if there was any confusion.
I tend to suspect Danto was more into thinking about art than looking at it, and while he was entitled to whatever sort of philosophical masturbation suited him, that was his business, certainly not mine.
Danto lost me at his epiphany over Warhol's Brillo boxes, meaning he never had me and is of no interest to me, except a kind of clinical or anthropological interest. And yes, things have gone very seriously wrong with the arts, certainly with the art establishment, which I neither trust nor respect. However, disgusting and depressing though that is, it puts me where I always was anyway--at my own judgment and taste, my own understanding, and my own interaction with art objects as such. In other words, it's between me and the work, not critics or curators or museum people, let alone dealers, fairs, "major" collectors or the market. I do not feel bewildered or confused; I feel freely like myself.