Art this Week: Boring or Exciting?
December 7, 2010
Recent allegations that art is “boring” are troublesome for an art law blog…
Two weeks ago, this blog reported on a reading by Steve Martin at Barnes & Noble. Martin continued on the NY literary circuit to the 92Y, where he and Deborah Solomon held a discussion on ART. As Martin Schneider writes, they spoke about the role of the art dealer in NY, Da Vinci, and even tax law. The audience members at the 92Y were so bored by this discussion that their tickets were ultimately refunded. In a NY Times article, Martin defended the discussion as “lively and entertaining.”
This week, the museum censorship issue has caused some excitement! But, Eric Felten of the Wall Street Journal remains unmoved, and suggests that art is no longer able to “shock”.
What will it take to make art exciting? According to the Guardian, “shocking” films like the Black Swan help make art exciting. And there’s always enough stolen Picassos and false fire alarms at museums to prevent any boredom in the art world.
