In the last three or four decades, critics have...

22nd February 2011

Quote reblogged from Sympathy for the art gallery with 40 notes

In the last three or four decades, critics have begun to avoid judgments altogether, preferring to describe or evoke the art rather than say what they think of it. In 2002, a survey conducted by the Columbia University National Arts Journalism Program found that judging art is the least popular goal among American art critics, and simply describing art is the most popular: it is an amazing reversal, as astonishing as if physicists had declared they would no longer try to understand the universe, but just appreciate it.

—

James Elkins, What Happened to Art Criticism? (2004)

as if physicists had declared they would no longer try to understand the universe, but just appreciate it.

Well…..

(via whileyouwereout

)

I appreciate this message. Very much.

(via sympathyfortheartgallery)

i’m hoping people reading this have noticed the fault.. that trying to understand something isn’t the same as judging it.. that appreciating/describing something whilst avoiding judgement is a better way to try to understand it..
i mean, for fucks sake, physicists never tried to judge the worth of the universe the way critics did art.
perhaps the rest of the pamphlet doesn’t make that mistake, or understands that it’s actually a step forward.. i’d like to read it if anyone has a link to a free version?

(Source: jenlindblad)

there are people who