[ovrtaxt]

I have often considered the modern art scene an empty forum of pretentious fakes more suited to the Style Channel, or a storefront window than a museum.

Vox doesn't bring film into the discussion, but there are some things worthy of noting. Mel Gibson is a modern exception to the rule of amorality, and Tolkien's epic endures because of the good vs. evil backdrop of the story.

It's the universal guideline of moral perfection that makes the humanity of anything stand out, much like the pure white of a canvas, if left exposed, creates an absolute foil by which to judge all pigments.

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[snopercod]

Dadaism

[joesnuffy]

At times, it could almost pass for an Oprah Book Club novel, chronicling the self-absorption and petty martyrdoms of the modern American woman.

LOL....

[George Smiley]

Thirty or so years ago, Tom Wolfe (he of the Merry Pranksters, not of Look Homeward Angel) wrote a "the emperor has no clothes" book on modern art entitled "The Painted Word".

Good read, if you can find it.

[aardvark1]

"Art" as practiced by today by those who seem to get all the press, truly is a reflection of the soul of our society. A crucifix in a jar of urine, dung "sculptures," US flags painted on the floor, or perhaps worse, our inability or unwillingness to separate the baser things that Larry Flynt calls art from the nobler things that have always been recognized as art.

[monkey]

No one who has read Crime and Punishment would refer to Raskolnikov as "Raselnikov". It's unlikely that someone familiar with Balzac would refer to him as "de Balzac" instead of just Balzac. And including "Bronte" (I wonder if he knows there were three of them) in a list of great writers from the past is ridiculous.

The writer is a poseur ("Mensa"). Every sentence in his essay is self-important and inane, but my favorite is: "The art of painting has not only been stripped of beauty by its artless practitioners, but the basic techniques have been lost as well, producing works that are cruder to the eye than the pre-perspective images of medieval times."

[Jack Black]

Based on the picture at the top the art of barbering is also in steep decline.

[exDemMom]

I would disagree with Vox's premises on just about every aspect. While the crucifix-in-urine "works" make headlines, one only has to look around to see that there are some truly talented artists out there. At the university where I work, there is a Craft center where people come to learn art of all forms, and some of the items they have on display are awesome. The fact that people want to learn to make real art is proof enough that artistic expression is NOT in decline. And as for literature, I don't do poetry, so I can't comment on that, but the novel is doing just fine. Any work by Terry Goodkind, C.J. Cherryh, Orson Scott Card, Anne McCaffrey... really, there are just too many good writers to list here.

And as for Vox's Mensa membership... I was never tempted to join, since it always struck me as a pretentious "look at me, see how smart I am" organization. Hah. I don't need to tell anyone how smart I am, ever.

[WhiteGuy]

ART?????

I thought this was the Vodka thread???????????????

[this_ol_patriot]

You can see plenty of good art and possibly some great art at local and regional art shows, theater and recitals. It is those that deem which art is art whom are in decline.

[Doctor Stochastic]

Pay no attention to what the critics say;
no statue has ever been put up to a critic.
- Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)

[ArrogantBustard]

but actually appears sober in comparison with the delusional self-parody of modern sculpture.

Oh, really?

The goofballs he's (rightly) condemning aren't the sum of modern sculpture.