A few updates re: my earlier post on David Hockney’s claims that the iPod is ruining contemporary art:
- Managed to track down the initial source of Hockney’s comments (I didn’t see it linked from the Engadget post where I first came across the story): iPod kills our sense of art, laments Hockney (Telegraph, June 13)
I also came across this blunt gem in the now-cooled comments section of the Engadget post:
Modern art is the biggest hoax of the 20th century.
http://www.artrenewal.org/
Posted by kentsageek @ Jun 16th 2007 12:47AM
Well, of course I had to click on the link to find out just who was this “Art Renewal” crowd. Turns out they are the Art Renewal Center and they’re fed up with not only post-modernism but modernism, too! They seem to advocate a return to the aesthetics of the 19th century, and they’ve taken up arms against contemporary art’s lack of craft and skill. Have a look:
Nothing has been more restricting and debilitating than the theories of modernism, which eliminated these tools, along with the skills to employ them. We are providing a forum for artists, scholars, collectors and the public to appreciate great art, and to recognize that they’re not alone in their suspicions about the emptiness of modern and postmodern art. These suspicions are fully justified by the overwhelming body of evidence and historical facts.
And how do they propose to, as they put it, “bring guidance, direction, goals and reality to an art establishment that has been sailing rudderless for nearly a hundred years”? Why establishing standards of quality for art, of course!:
… we are setting standards to become Art Renewal Center Approvedâ„¢ for artists, art schools, systems of training, museum exhibitions and historical scholarship …
What a great idea! And who should be charge of this effort? Who can we trust as seal-of-approval granting arbiters of taste? Well, who other than the makers of such scrumptious (and questionably named) delights such as AH-SO Original Chinese Style BBQ Sauce (“New England’s Best Selling BBQ Sauce!”)? That’s right, Allied Old English, Inc. (who also manufacture an line of Asian-themed products dubbed “MEE TU”) is a partial sponsor of the Art Renewal Center website.
Well, good. I’m glad that *someone* is out there ensuring appreciation for craft and skill in contemporary art. Not to mention ensuring a steady flow of sweet glaze for those delicious spare ribs!
