Hi Teri,

You understood my point.  There should be no finality in the judgment of
art - for though you use the expression "good art," there is no
definition to which everyone will agree.  (Similarly, "bad art" is
useless.)

Fischl connects with some viewers and doesn't with others.  That speaks
volumes about the viewers, not the "goodness" or "badness" of the
sculpture, its location, the artist, the people who decided to put it on
display in Rockefeller Center.  Perhaps what Fischl intended matters far
less in this case than how people respond in and for themselves?  (After
all, artistic intentionality - as most art historians and critics will
say - is to be ignored.  Artists may or may not express themselves in
words as precisely as in their artistic medium/media and could,
certainly, deceive . . . intentionally or not.  A quick reading of
Wimsatt & Beardsley's "The Intentional Fallacy" will point to the many
reasons.)

Just as some people may be offended by nudity, by scenes of warfare, by
the millions of disturbing news reports we hear in our lifetimes . . .
the solution is not for everyone to be locked up in isolation (though
some people thrive in maximum security psychiatric institutions), nor to
move to desolate locales to live as hermits (though I'm reading Patrick
Suskind's Perfume in which the main character enjoys such extreme
solitude for a good long while).

Everyone must deal with life in their own way.  To say "It's too soon
for this sculpture" denies those people who are ready to share the
expression.  To say, "Show it now - or else" is insensitive to those who
are not yet ready.  Who's right?  Who's wrong?  Everyone or no-one . . .
?  That's life.

"For everything, there is a season . . . "

In reference to George Garner's question to me: Do I look at new
billboards or bus advertisements at least once?  Actually, no.  It may
amaze you.  You may consider me untruthful.  But, frankly, I am not
tempted in the least to look at "yet another" advertisement considering
they are on TV and the radio, in newspapers and magazines.  Heck, you
can't even stand at a urinal nowadays without having some advertisement
plastered in your field of vision!  Nevertheless, I am proud to say that
I zone out . . . think about things more pertinent to my everyday
existence on this rock we call earth.  There is life beyond goods and
services.  ;-)

Sincerely,

Jay Heuman
Visitor & Volunteer Services Coordinator
Joslyn Art Museum
2200 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE, 68102
342-3300 (telephone)   342-2376 (fax)

"You can’t lock up art in a vault and keep it frozen for posterity. Then
the artist is betrayed, history is betrayed."
(Walter Persegati)

Teri McNichol wrote, in part:
> 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?

=========================================================
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).