Neo-Modern

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111 a ll} p r;\ t iti oner o r c r itic inform ed by th e cr it iq ue of modernism , its recent
I \ ral ill n isi ir pract ice offers a b ewild ering pu zzlc . Repealin g es ta blished tabo os
nd 1 1l rn i ll ~ hack th e cl o ck , the last few yea rs h ave see n a re n ew ed int ere st in
abstructlon . m a ter ia lity, an d process in ways that , o n the su rfa ce, recall th e forma)
1 lcgi .s 01 modernist an a nd its Minim alist offshoo ts. In the U n ited States a lo ne,
111 , w Muse um 's Unmonu mental (2 008), th e Kitch en 's Besides, vVith, Aga'insl , and
}' l.' .H' Mrclr l i fm and the Ready-Made Gesture (2 0 09- 10), the Sculpture Ce n te r 's K night's
MIYIJt' (2010), th e Los Angeles Co un ty Mu seum o f Art's m in k)' Palermo: Reirospea ioe
lQ6!- IV7 , ( ~ () I O), th e Museum of M odern Art 's Abstract Expressioni st Neio Yorll
9 I ll- I I), a nd a host of ga llery shows ha ve al1 reg istered thi s se ac hange, showcas ing
.. 11.: u rgen t. co nce rn with abstraction [r om a vari et y of p ersp e ctives,
Wh ik mau v of th ese artist ic practice s a nd cu ra to r ia l p r oj e ct s d emon strat e
r mllp k nn rl nit ical rel ati on ships to mode rn ism , a bs trac t ion , and a uto n o my,
til ' 11:" is neve rt heless a slow g-rav itat io na l pull , in both produ ction a n d re cep ti on ,
iowarrl a less re flexi ve a n d m o re n ostal gi c a tt itu de . In d e e d , a ny visit to Che lsea,
t he nwe r La st Sid e o r a n MFA pr o gram will yie ld a p e pp erin g of objec ts tb ar
mimi th e fo rm al m oves of so m e moder n ist a rt . 'Wby n ow? My co njecture is rhaL
h is n.: \'I\,;:I1 is a re turn to fo u n da tio ns not unlike similar re turn s during pe r iods of
zrc u anx ie ty and uph eaval. But whe r e as th e rajJjJel iJ l 'ordre o f t h e 19 20s, for
inst a nce , g';17 (>d toward a n a n t iq ue figurative tr a diti on, t h e c u rren t turn to th e
lns i '11g ras ps at more re cent be d roc k.
A p e r fec t sto rm of timin g- a nd influ en ce , this em b race of m o d e rnist styles is a
'OIW -r renee of seve ra l d evel opment s. It is, in e q ua l p arts, a gene ra t io na l fat igue
with theo rv: a g row ing sp li t b et we en band-mad e a rt istic produ c tion a n d soc ia l
p rucri o: a nd a legitimate a n d th rift y a tte m p t to "keep it re al" in th e [a ce ot an
v r- r-xpa nsivo im ag'f' cu ltu re a n d th e slic k "commodi ty a rt " of Koons. Murakami ,
:l rl oth e- rs. Bur , it a lso represelll s a n ost algi c retrenchrn errt o n th e p art of an a rt
wor l I I h rc au-ru-d by te ch nol ogical tr an sfo rrna t ion an d eco no m ic nn certainty th at
n _w u n d r-rm ine u s hierarchi es a n d claim s o f cu ltu ra l p recede nce. AI th e same
timr-, tod avs app r opriati on of" m oderni st a hs uac tion is fa r to o ec lect ic to be assoc i
at ed with [h e m edium-sp e cifi c, tel e ol o gi cal formalism of C le me n t Gree n berg .
:'-it o-Io rrna lism ca n d ra w o n a I"ange of influ en ces spa n n in g Co nst ruct ivism to Ant'
OLIO/}!:I I I i .' ), Il'ill It I 20 I 2, 1'1' ~)-/ 4 if' '2012 0((01"" M ((gilV nfl,

ua. ru u! Ma ss-ub usett-. l1111I1u(I' oj 1 ;'d u iOIJJg).

l. . i '11g ras ps at more re cent bed ro ck.

A p e r fec t sto rm of timing- a nd influ en ce, this em b race of m o d e rnist styles is a
'OIW

-r ren ee of seve ra l d evel opm ent s. It is, in e q ua l p arts, a ge ne ra t io na l fat igue

with theo rv: a g row ing sp li t b et we en band-mad e a rt istic produ ction a n d so cial

10

OCTOBER

Povera, but it m ost clos ely r es embl es Action Painting in its e mp has is on performat.ivc produ cti on (read pro ce ss) an d a bs tract form . Inocul at ed with a dose of th e
everyday, h oweve r, n eo-forrn alism tr affi cs in hybridized m aterial s th at affo rd it a refe re n tial base and so insulate it agains t ch a rg es of pure abs tractio n . Its de cor, to o ,
ofte n ca rr ies a payload of g r itty m at eri alism that defl ect s an y acc usa ti o n o f str ictly
ae sthe tic claim s. Thus a wo r k by J o sh Smith , Daniel H esid e n ce, Al e x Hubbard ,
Thom as Hase ago , Richard Aldr ich, o r Cedi Sibo ny.j ust to n am e a few, might juxtap o se a m od erni st lo ok with a m at erial p rocess , cou n te r ba la n c ing a e s t he t ic
del ect ati on with as ce tic d e nial.
Negating pictorial d epth with su r face, an d co nve n tiona l represen tati on with
m at eriality, suc h practices a ttem pt to circ umv e n t a fundam entally unreliabl e and theo r e r ically forecl osed im a g e- world . But if thi s r esurre cted int ere st in materi al
expe r im e n ta tion and anti-pictori al opacit y is ad m ira ble as a resistan ce to a p er fe cted
illusionism , it also turns a blind eye to its own co nse rva tive tendenci es. In corporat in g
th e re ceived valu es of m aterialism an d co n tex t-se ns itivity, today's n co-formalism neve rt h ele ss pursues a n art of intuiti ve, ae sthe t ic arra ng ement th at sati sfies the n e ed fo r
form al co n tin uities and sim p le answe rs during a parti cul arl y co m p lex time .
Whil e it p ro pou n ds a di scourse o f q uotidi an m od esty-"an a lch e m y o f th e
eve ryday"- neo-fo rmalism in fa ct nullifie s th e specific ity and di scursive p ote nr ial
of its own m aterials and su bsu mes th em in a famili a r m odernist idi om .' U nlike the
cr iti ca l a pp ro p r ia t io n a rt of th e 1980 s, it adva nc es a revere ntial m an u al re-craft ing
of mod ernism that filter s its source s th rou gh the indi vidu al se ns ib ility of the
a r tist. Less sim u la tio n th an em ulat io n , n eo-forrnali sm is in fac t a r estorative proj e ct th at m ay "tes t th e limit s of yo u r faith in art ," but o rilv in o rde r to "re n ew it"
m o re rc solutely.s Actin g lik e a modern-d ay Arc irn bold o , th e a rt ist shapes the o rd inar y m atter of tod ay into th e fo rm al ec ho es o f yes te rday, thus va lid a t ing the
m odern "visu al traditi on as a n intrin sic a n d e n d u r ing value. :" ln so d oing , n e ofo rm alism re tr e a ts to a so li psism that , wh ile gu aran teeing im p r ovisa to r y fr e ed om ,
also she lte r s th e a r t ist a n d th e co lle c tor a like in a n e ch o cham be r of art-hist orical
r efere n ce a n d formal fre e-pl ay. A t once sh ie ld e d a n d e nto m bed , n co-form ali sm
rem ai ns a pi c torially hut not oper atio nally re sist ant gesture that is cha ra cte r ized
by aest he t ic with d rawa l and r atifi ed by a n a ll-too-willing market.
Rh etori call y su pported as a sh ift to co ncre te n ess a n d a id ed by c urre n t th e1.
"An a lchemist 0 1 th e e veryd ay, Sib o ny m ak e s st ri pp e d-down sc u lp tu res lh al ma y le'l lh e- limus o f
your Iauh III an . bUI Ihey 'li also re n ew i t ." "C ed i Sibo ny," Th N I'1J) Yor/wl ( May 26 , 20011), p. 16.
'!.
Ib id.
:1 .
Se e Sa.u c h i Ca llerv 's art isrs p rofi le for Ced i Sibo n y, n . p. : "I n l hat 's Tali s Tale. Sib n uy co nfiglir e , a 'pa im iu g ' I ron I p la st ic sh e e t ing a nd par kin g t a pe , wit h t he ill ccglllar <ha pc ol th e ' (;"1I11" >
dr;HI ;ng- re fe re nc e to a rti st s su c h as Ellsworth Kel le y a n d Fr an k S te lla . By ex posin g e xac t ly how t h r
wo rk w. is m ad e, Sibo n y in sti ga( :' ~ a pcrforrnar ive rol e (or th e a u. is: ic p I ocess, fo cusing a ll e n I ion Oil
t h c su b tle tensions within rh e com pos iuon a n d it s v c r ~ co nsid e re d an d so p h isuca red balan c e ol Io rm ,
unu e rialu v. a n d spa ce f'hr o ugh i h is in teu se 'C I ut i nv, Si b on y affirm s th e a u t h e n t icit v ofa rr ist u
in l.-g,-it l , p m il.ng a rcfi nec l co n no isseur sh ip o f, a nd h ei gh tened se ris irivitv 10, visu al uad u io n " .< a n
iru ri n -,ic an d cn du r i ng va lu e" (',J,l( c h i - g a ller ) .c o . lI k / an i s l' /ge cl l_~i bn n y h im ? >e Cl io n _ n a l n e~
, ha l" '_o(" th ing; , ,1( , vsser l j a n ua ry 16 , 201 2) .

11

v'. frayed re la tio n to pra cti ce , n e e-formali sm also re animates well-wo r n tropes
Li: '(' e 'pn: ' 'io n a n d ca tha r tic gest ure . O ne sees this espec ially in th e re tu rn
of '1 11 ,si nis i pa in ting , r epl e te wit h a d iscou rse of ineffa h le and unfettere d "ereatlon" nd ,U I .qu a llv tr an scend en tal su bject who "does not re ly o n no stal gi a (o r]
\ I~Ultl u h 1I'f' '' hu t Ii >nTIS "an elusive space tha t tak es th e viewe r beyon d a d efinbl langllagc,nJ Here- rhe art ist once m o re ass u mes the m a ntl e of a n emancipa te d
1 1 nor (:lIId \
thut o f e m an cip a te d spectators) , a llowing u s to r eli ve a m yth of a
"wild ," un rn .d ia te d su bjec tiv ity we lded i nex tr ica bly to th e pri m al m e di um of
P<ii lll- :m illli.\ c th. t is pe rhaps co mfo rt ing but also n ost al gi c an d m ystifie d .
rom a t ru c tu ral p e r sp ective , this shi ft in foc us from di scour se to su bje ct ivuv und [r III re p rese n ta t io n to t h ing co u n te rs mo re d emate ri ali ze d p r ac ti ces such
CO Il f: ptuul a nd m edi a-b a sed wo r k . O fte n evok ing th e m od e st y o f eve r yday
nrerial , Ill;' -fo rrna lism ap pea ls to th e sim p licit ie s o f a r tis t ic lab or, a last bas t io n
1I hllfll n il )'" e n d a ng e re d (yet "e n d ur ing") ta ctile e ngage me n t with m atter. At
t h . arne l im e , n co-form ali sm co nst it u tes a compl em e nt to th e r ein vig o ra ted
fo
11 perf nuan ce; inde ed , it is o ne part o f a dyad in wh ic h th e n ever-exr ingui -ht:d n 't' I tor anthro pomorphis m an d fig ura tio n find s it s tran sitory pl a ce on
I Itt:' ullerv aJlti m use u m s tage in p er form a n ce a rt (wi tn ess th e fanfar e aro u n d
M, r in n hra rn o vi s r e ce nt re rro spe cr ivc The Artist Is Presen t). Such p opuli st
an thr r m rpl rism i hus offe rs u p the b od y fo r voy e ur is t ic sc r u t iny, whil e th e
rommcrc inl ~j (' c t is st r ip ped down to a vag u e, fo rmal ve h icle , co nve n t io nal
enough I ppcal to an eq u a lly broad audien ce .
1<) (' fa il, in thi s ti m e o f ec o no m ic cr isis a n d p oli ti cal un cert aint y, mod m i.m ruav ullp r tl : clo sest thin g we have to a so lid fo u n da tion-to a classical as
well , u cr u ica l past. Yet, if tod a y's run to th e Rothko s imi t at e s mo de rn ism's
dlal t ical na tu re (its tac tica l ca ll-a rid -res po nse of o ne style to a no the r) in o rd e r
[f
nes t th e d omin a nc e o f co ncep tual and im ag e-b a se d wo r ks, it also d isca rds
rnu rn i rn's op po sit io na l as pects . Inste ad , it p lun ders m od ernism 's form al au r ibIII , for wha tever charge th ey mi gh t st ill h ol d , traffic king e q ually in the shoc ki ng ly
OllJr '. an d th e rnnoni ra lly familiar.
i pa in t in g by J os h Sm ith , fo r in stance , coy ly pl ays wit h Ex p ress io n ist tropes
'l1lug led ill u iu le r the rubri c o f repro duci bility; each m ark fun cti on s as bo th
autheutic
ru re a n d co py, a t once full of h yperboli c di spl ay a n d e m pty o f se nt iment. Ve l. pu s d ,'gains t n o h eg em oni c realis m and co ns u me d for its aesthe t ic
pp .;d , M:I '11 wo rk sim ply tr affi cs in familia r cl ic hes of artis t ic inn o c en ce. S uc h
in noc n e . sup p o rted by Sm ith 's own prosai c a r tic u la t io n of hi s pra ctice , h as lo ng
1

r unn

n ' Oil '" ~ In ' Dan ie-l He>ld e n , e ', An/mean /]lIfj(1I0, D'A rne l io Tcrra s C" IIe, )'. 2010 , n p.:
<lI)('S nOI rel y Ull lIo st al gi a . visu al c u lture. n or J><I). ironic tr ib u te to MI ists o f adui ir ariu n Rath I', I I. i<l .. lIr " lUI <1 1(" in fo ru uu io n th rou gh <I co nc e n trau- d process o f crea l io n , fo rlTlin ~ : 1))
~ lrn" l' ~p~ e IlI<l 1 1<11,,, th e viewe r bev on rt <I d efiu abl e I'ln gu a ge. Like t hr h ig l:Jly u np rovi -au on .rl and
~ lund E Ul I )~I(',' 1l 'An .1II f nrn ll' I.' hi, pairuin gs ,,1'1' un comp rorni-i ng, wild, a nd aggr essive . O tten \, \O G IIII i " m , do; 1 1l) 11 ~ <Ial \, .m d cL ,"-:<I ill the s.uu e ca nvas, t h ev <Ire P<ls t d n cr'ip l iun . un uu c-rahl e i,) Ih e ll
nllidltY.Llld illl ricrue ]t>V;.1I Fo r bOI h P,l)IlICr a nd vie wer , 1hese works embod y a " ila li,) Ih" l u nabash ed ly
{1 I L~ U1n ., , he: M' nSt" ."
I

Pre

-J k~ i rJ ~ lI r l" 5 wo rk

pa int ing by Jos h Sm ith , fo r in stance , coy ly pl ays with Ex p ress io n ist tropes

'l1lug 1 .d ill u iu le r the rubri c of repro duci bility; ea ch m ark f u nc t io ns as both

auth ' l lt i ~e m rc a n d copy, a t once full o f h yperboli c di spl ay a n d e m p ty o f se n t i-

ment. Vel. pu s d <Jga ins t n o h eg em o nic realis m a nd co ns u me d for it s aes the t ic

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I~

OCTOBER

th e stuff of m od erni sm 's em brace o f th e p ri m itive , the in fantile , and t he savSmall wonder, th en , th at h is abs tractio ns and pai n tings of fish , leaves, and his
ow n e nd less ly a n d d eco rously rearran ged Dame wo uld fin d suc h a m a rk et in a n
era marked by a nx io us retr osp ecti on.
Such a p roj ec t rep resents a cyn ica l mode] for a co n tem po ra r y p ractice t ha t
lIOW searc hes for lo o phol es a nd b lin d spots in a co n sta n t h edgin g of be ts. In
e ffec t, i t allows the art ist an d the collecto r to h ave it bo th ways- t he lux ury of ae st het ic p leas ure a nd i ts sim u l t a n e o u s di sa vo wal. You nger a rt is ts e xp lo it th is
a m b iguo us terr ain , too , acting as un wittin g ch ampio ns in today's vers io n o f "th e
re tu rn to th e crafl. "'i A p r ocess -based re sin p ain tin g by Alex Hubh a rrl , fo r
instance, ca n ech o de Ko onin g , Ro th ko , o r Ta pies, all of wh om a re aggra nrli ze d in
a yo u th fu l u p d at e. Mean while , a silve r-d ip pe d p ainting hy J acob Kassay re in vents
th e Co ns tructiv ist a n d Minimali st rn o noc h ro rn e as a pro d uct of rh e (now ant iq uared ) pho tographic process, b u t also recast s it as a sump tua ry wa ll h an ging th at
vain ly m irro rs the lik e n ess o f i ts possessor.
In thi s way, n ee -formali sm ex h u mes a nd reco mbi n es form erly revol uti onary
models-Construc tivism , Abs tract Expressio n ism , Arte Pove ra, Mini m alism , etc.- bnt
in so do ing fa ils to grasp n ew social an d cu ltural con figu ra tio ns tha t call fo r di ffe rent
stra tegies altoge ther. In sta r k co n trast , develop ments in techn ol og y, the Intern et ,
au d social medi a h ave helped to mo bilize ac tual revo lu tions like th e Arab Sp ring a nd
now th e O ccupy ' Vall Stree t m ovement, wh ile th e an wo rld is still tr yin g to co n ne ct
an e man r ipa to ry rh e toric to an economy of lu xury goods . To o bvia te such impasses
an d vulga r co nce rns , n co-formalism re treats to th e a ur a o f the object a nd to its hallo wed resting place in modernist a bstractio n.
H owever, unlike m od erni sm 's form er c ha m p io n s, to clay's art ists, cr it ics , a nd
sa lespe o p le o fte n str uggle fo r a lan gu ag e to di scu ss su ch pr ac ti ces. In stead th ey
fall bac k o n th e old ma ntr a of "p rocess"- no t becau se th e work arrests lan gu age
o r tr a n scend s pos it ivis t concept io ns , as is o f te n cl aim e d , but beca use, in th e
abse n ce o f th e lo fty (ye t cr itica l) di scou r se tha t fueled much o f m o d ernism , th ere
is so littl e to discu ss except p rocess. T h is un m o ored rheto r ic fin ds it sel f refl ect ed
in art sc h ools as we ll. A visi t to a n MFA prog ram today will reve al a p le thora of
"slacke r a bs trac tio ns " th at chann el a nyon e a n d eve ryo ne fro m Ric hard Tu ttle to
Mich a el Krebber. Wh en que r ie d abo u t the cr it ica l sta kes o r g uid ing pri n cipl es of
such a p rac t ice , th e stude n t re p ea ts th e lan gu age o f th e press rel eases: "We l], it 's
really intui rive . just thin kin g a bo u t m a teri als a nd p ro cess." Su ch myopi a , horn of
1) (: c lI

a ~e .

I n "Th e Retu rn to th e- Craf t' ( 1920L G lo rg-io de C h irico ur ge , ,I i r-u nn to c lass rcal nad iuo u
,diel a ,I a l (' o f av.uu-ga rde "h yste : ia": "Wit h [h e su nse t ol h ) Sleri d more t han o ne p ai nt e r will re turn
lO i h e r ra lt , a m l t h o se who h ave a lrea d y d o ne so ca n wo r k wi t h (i c e r ha nd s, a n d th eir "' O J k W i ll h"
ru o r" .1d" '1'd,lk ly I C'(og nv.ed ,m el n- compr-nsed ." SC'e Ch .nles H,I)'I ivon an d Pa u l Wo o d. e ds . ; \,., in
1'1t""" 1901l-1 'J1)() (Oxfo r d: Bla ckwe ll Pll bli~h e l'!" 1 9 9 ~ ) , Pl" 234 -:-17. II i, a lso inl C'r e ~ \)n g 10 note i hat
<Iv Ch i, i,r", emp ha sis 0 11 t he rece pt io n b v "freer ha nds' o f c o m m c nsu rarc co m pen sa tion is e ch oed m
'od.-II' e m pha sis Oil labor .m d p ro ce ss as .m in d e x o f ae st he t ic (a nd perh a ps m on et a ry ) va lue . 1'\0 111
I "'l lll ns m o b ili( e lite I h ct o r ic o f , r ,ltl a, o ., C' n l ia l lO I.J adi rio n. Todav 's cOllp ling o f p ro ce ss a u d ab" rCi( 1'011 is rhu s ;, l i ({' r ~ 1 " r(' -l l'a l l ing" o ft h .. mode i ni st p asr ,

:J

"slacke r a bs trac tio ns" tha t channel a nyon e a n d eve r yone from Ric hard Tu ttle to
Mich ael Krebbe r. Wh en que r ie d abo u t the cr itica l stakes o r g uid ing pri n cipl es of
such a p ra c t ice , th e stude n t repea ts th e lan g uage o f th e pr ess rele ases : "We l], it 's
really intuir ive . just thin kin g' a bo u t m a ter ials a nd pro cess." Such myop ia, ho rn of

13

the r ti J l rcclosu res an d a ge n era l se nse of d efeatism (o ne st u den t recently

remarked, "How d o vou compete wit h Avatar?"), also signals a wit h d rawa l, a backr i-bas i mcn talh.y. In thi s re tr ea r, m od erni sm offers a p roud , lo n g-un claimed
h i~(o rv ih,u ,1.11 n ow be surfed , co llage d, an d artfu lly a r ra n ge d into qu asi-un canny
vl~j(!( ~: , I II' 'il l in form ye t co m p lacen t in sp ir it .
l{' d ange r herr is less th at th is ar t promot es an illusor y au tono my or cynically
l n l ' I , I' ihe m ark et. th an tha t it reveals th e di scourse of art as n ow co nsisting of
I I LlLi n' hu t t Iw ma rk I.. Nee dless to say, th e co llect ing class, largely u n ex posed to th e
i ique IJ mud rnism an d still d riven by hum ani sti c myth s of creation, ce lebra tes
.1lI ' ,. 1 rrn lo the prom ise of an a utonomous , self-possessed m aker yield ing hi ghly
. I: lb .ticized P od u cts throu gh m ostl y intuiti ve m ean s. For thi s ge ne ra lly o lde r
tf rntlgr;'lph ic, th return to mod ernism is perceived as co m bin ing the street ered of a
'Olinger p; n Till ion with a ve tted inoffen siven ess th a t closely ec hoes the classics of
III past cemur y. So a Th om as H ou seage scu lp tu re m ay invok e th e primitivist. heroics
fP i a . , h ilc a "lace p aintin g" b y Mark Grotjann can ec ho KJee ox Pousset te-Dart
Lest 11(; lx-lieve that a wor k's implicit cr itica lity were su fficie n t to undo , co n'vert , 0 1 t: ml.C.~t this mentalit y, an y visit to a co llec tion will reveal th e naivete of suc h
lhinkltlj.\ . till mo tivated by aes th e tic ap peal, mark et value, a n d th e d ecorat ive place
IJ it work 111 th e horne , most co llec tors in fact see m un m oved or impervi ous to a
1\11 I . ~ .r itical ge'itures, wh ile arti sts a re ofte n torn between person al politics a n d
omn rcial I ITS'iIlI'(,. The two pa rties thus e ngage in <In un easy co urts h ip aro u nd
Il~ pok . n Ii .'. ions a n d un ackn owledged aspiratio ns, where eac h see ks th e perceived
(: nd I) r lo rm rrl) freedo ms of th e oth er. Even whe n purch ased fo r in stitutions, th e
Wo1 '
n till he vetted th rough a p ri vate h o m e e n ro ute to a p ublic forum. It is on ly
I ric that th is circuit of exchange privileges a particul ar type of work , a parti cul ar
1\'IJe 01P ac uce ;1 particular type o f d iscourse.
nd ersianding this im plicitly, nco-formalism tacitly reveals a n e pistcrnic shift, a
iii tor ical tra nsform a u on , whe re by, with th e ava n r-garde now j ettison ed as a naive fierin n. 11 e co ru c m p o r a ry a r two r k is re gard ed as little m ore than ,\11 excl us ive
(exdusi na n ') li/lil'l d 'art. If we co ns id e r th e formal veneer of th e works in qu estion ,
. structu re or tod ay's art market , and th e ornate passivity of its cham pione d p rodII ts, \ e " 'C a rvturn to a pr em od ern co n ditio n , in wh ic h th e a rtwo rk is limited
hrgP l}' In a pr p,lga nd istic, affirmative , o r decorati ve ro le, as was th e case with eightee uth-ccrn IJI . painting. Indeed , on e o nly ha s to lo ok a t N a tt ier, Fr agonard , a nd
8011 Itt'l I II see t!l(' opera tio na l h orizon an d d estin y of mu ch of tod ay's production .
mp ar in g th ese two e poc hs, d efined by gross econ om ic asym me try a n d th e alien:l II OJl I
j t s "e n lig h te n ed" a ri st o crat ic class fro m a n im p o\ 'er ish cd a nd fla we-d
inr trucun e. we: see th e logic of to day's poli tical a nd eco no m ic divisiveness , th e
"mobs" ril ring ill the streets , as well as th e co ur tly p ropert ies of tod ay's a rt .
. aken b r ad lv, t his shift is tie d to th e a rt worl d 's becoming a pecu lia r form
of nir h in d ustr y, cqual parts H oll ywood a n d exo tic m a rk et (Cagosian Ca lle rv, fo r
insta nce. n ow se-lls speed boa ts desig ned by Marc Newso n). Wi tn ess, too . th e evergl'tlwi g n u m b e r, of a rt fa i rs rh a t sco u r the g lo he for n ew co l le c to r s , th e

e "'C a rvturn to a pr em od e rn co n ditio n , in wh ich th e a rtwo rk is limited

largPl}' In a pr lp,lga nd islic, affirma tive , o r decorati ve ro le, as was th e case with eight4Xm h-cCIllIJI} painting. Indeed , on e o nly h as to lo ok a t N a tt ier, Fr agonard , a nd
8011 her I II see the- opera tio na l h orizon an d d estin y of mu ch of tod ay's product ion .

II ts, \

14

OCTOBER

hei gh ten ed fascina tio n with ce le br ity (i.e.ijames Fra nco's newfound legitimacy as
an art ist), a nd th e Osca r-inspired Art Awards th at starte d as a gag by Ro b Pr u itt
bur h ave now been tran sfo rm ed in to a legi timat e awa rd ce re mony.
Th e neo -Fo rrnalism crow d ing today's MFA pro grams , ga lle r ies , mu seums,
a nd art fairs is both th e os te nsible an tago nist of thi s developm ent a nd its reaction
form ati on . It m ay appea r to deny a p erfect ed spectacle, but it is teth ered to it as by
an umbili cal co r d.v Les t on e mi stake it for th e autono mo us art o nce cha m p io ne d
by Ad orn o , this work se ldo m aspires to ad d ress the ge neralize d alie na tio n th at
would result in a ges tu re of refu sal, n or is it r efused by a literali st au d ie nce in
search of simple r thin gs. Rather, it gree ts a pre-prim ed spe ctator, a lready indo ctrinat ed into th e co des and myth ol ogi es of th e m od er n , who happ ily welco mes it as a
return to old certaint ies-an ec ho of a lost go lde n age.

A, Cle me n t (; re elllw rg t,un ou ,l ) \I. rote . "No c u lture ca n d e vel op wu ho ut a soc ia l basis, wirho iu a
of ' ld bk income . And ill {he case o f th c avaru-ga rrie , th is "as pro vid ed by a n e li te a mouu lhe
rulin g c l.rss o f ih , >oc in y Irom whi c h i l a ssu med itself to b e c ut o ff, b u t 10 wh ic h il h,I, " h", I'
rt ' II , ~,i nc d .u tachcd bv a n umbilical c o rd of go ld :' Se e "Avan t-Carde a n d Kitsc h " ( 19:19), in Ih l iii /lo,,,,}
/ 9f)(1-19(11i. p. :d;,\.

Ii.

"illiT e.'