jeremy tessmer | curator & designer

Sitting at lunch today, I overheard an interesting discussion on the various merits and deficiencies of contemporary art criticism. Said the woman, “You don’t even have to LOOK at art to write that crap.” Somewhere, deep inside, a tiny smile lit upon my blackened heart. Amen, sister. Amen.

Of course, another part of me also likes that crap. I still read it, even if I sometimes find myself rolling my eyes. Feminist critique, Marxist critique, Structuralist critique and then deconstruction all add something to the discussion, even if that something sometimes tastes a little… fermented. There are some insights to be had, but you have to concede that all of these intellectual vivisections have a tendency to undermine the visual aspect of art. When you vivisect a painting like that, the whole thing can upset a sensitive stomach.

I post this to note a tiny, but growing recognition among certain segments of the Art World that LOOKING (read: connoisseurship) needs A LOT more recognition. I dunno. At least, that’s what I hear.