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December 3, 2013
Art has not shocked, provoked or otherwise challenged for years now.
The belief that it does, should or could is almost endearingly quaint when one hears it voiced.Certainly the words used to describe creative activity, such as those above, are a product of the general hyperbolic drift in many aspects of our everyday language. And, rather like racism, the more the arts diminish in relevance in relation to both our personal and national life, the more overblown and indiscriminate are the claims made of it. Off-Limits: Subjects Artists Won't Tackle | Standpoint
Posted by gerardvanderleun at December 3, 2013 9:43 AM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.
Your Say
Peter Whittle's essay was very thought provoking.
I liked the phrase, "we flatter ourselves". It made me think how important it is to humans to matter. We flatter ourselves while being "slaves to concocted fashion, political whim and received wisdom."
It is liberating to "be ourselves; whatever that may be."
Posted by: grace at December 3, 2013 1:05 PM
"Art has not shocked, provoked or otherwise challenged for years now."
That's because it's pretty hard to top what you see every day out there in realworldland.
Posted by: glenn at December 3, 2013 1:07 PM
They take "angry and frustrated" for shocking the squares and challenging people's preconceptions of art. Just making people pissed that you suck doesn't seem to enter their radar at all.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at December 3, 2013 2:11 PM