I distinguish between the museums/galleries of contemporary art and every
other kind of artworld.
"Vain machinations of the rich, as realized by their lackeys" -- yes, I
think that vanity and lackeyship is what keeps those institutions afloat.
Good taste is never exercised, and universal, essential truths are never
unconcealed. It's a special, insider game, sort of like Polo.
Regarding the "sentimental academic tradition", if that is exemplified by
William Bouguereau, then you've got me wrong. I loathe it.
It's less pretentious than the contemporary artworld, but I just don't share
those emotions -- they feel cheap and small to me.
I go for the stuff that feels big and powerful, which is why, in addition to
all the portraits, landscapes, and still life that I enjoy, I've even recently
been getting more into some of the ABX painters of the fourties and fifties.
Did you know that those people actually had a real art education? They were
painters trying to express themselves, rather than self-expressive people
trying to make paintings.
Regarding the "looting and destroying the cultures", I am proud that my own
country had such a good track record in the 20th C. It was on the winning
side of two international wars, but what did it carry off? We Americans still
have to travel if we want to see the best European or Japanese art.
BTW -- one thing I'm learning about the great art monuments of South Asia
(Angkor Wat, Khajuraho, etc) is that, despite their stone construction, they
weren't meant to be permanent shrines the way that the cathedrals of Europe
were. They were more like manifestions of royal power that were often soon
abandoned by subsequent regimes. (this is why, apparently, Khajuraho was
spared by the iconoclastic Muslim invaders who were so thorough in destroying
temples that were still being used for idol worship)
So, maybe Malraux was doing the right thing when he chopped off a few statues
and saved them from the jungle ?
*************
But you - pointed out just recently these collections (acts of
preservation)are nothing but the vain machinations of the rich, as realized
by their lackeys: the curators of institutions who preserve most things you
think are not worthy of preservation while denigrating the sentimental
academic tradition you identify with - can you sort this out for me.
PS. Much of the trans-generational and trans-cultural art we use, preserve
and cherish is the result of looting and destroying the cultures and peoples
who produced them - seeming we would rather use, preserve and cherish
artifacts, rather than the communities that produced them.
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