Jay Heuman wrote: >Perhaps people need to connect and express with their emotions - even if they rage against a work of art - rather than trying to repress it all. Not looking at the sculpture doesn't make the reality go away? > Dear Jay, You raise a point that I have thought about and struggled with for a long while after seeing an exhibit that left me very disturbed. I did not feel some of the pieces engaged me, or invited my participation. I felt they took me hostage instead with their own set agenda. I am an artist and a curator and I do not have a problem with art that is provocative or even raw but art is always social. Truth is social. No individual can proclaim the truth. There has to be a dialogue for truth is not absolute. And this is only one way in which art is participatory. The artist also sets the "key" for the symbolic map and we journey together. That is not to say that the viewer will get it. And even if the viewer does not get it, good art retains its quality--it is not lessened. The most horrific documentary photographs could also exhibit flawless printing technique giving it its artistic quality and accentuating the impact of the image by its very contrast. It can move the viewer to rage and even better inspire them to action even if it is the declaration that this cannot happen again, ever. Perhaps I am an idealist, but I feel that art should be transcendent. In Fischl's work what is the symbol pointing at? Finality, hopelessness? Just yesterday I was in Grand Central Station in NYC and there is a display, a memorial of sorts, in the middle of one of the corridors of posters of the missing still remain. I think I mentioned before that I assisted at some town meetings on rebuilding in Lower Manhattan and families attend with large photographs of their loved ones who were victims and the emotion is deep and gaping. There is an hierarchy of art works. Some are museum quality. Many more get rejected from a juried exhibit then get accepted. The problem may be that this was a commission and though executed by a good artist, this particular piece did not come off. Perhaps. Terri McNichol Ren Associates Princeton NJ ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).