Hirst, Judgment Day. Photo: Joshua Bright for The New York Times
Ben Lewis pens the modern art take-down: Prospect – The dustbin of art history. Its reassuring to see Ben Lewis picking up on my central theme, indeed at the root of all declines and decadence is a quotation culture:
“Under mannerism, quotation from previous masters replaced invention, and realism was transposed into decoration.”
I find this point on cynicism amusing:
“Yes, Hirst’s gold-plated cabinets containing grids of industrial diamonds are glossily vacuous, but they are a critique of the society that admires them.”
This is the Grand Inquisitor argument – an inspired act is to give people the garbage they themselves crave. Omitting the key fact that you, the Grand Curator, created the myth that drives the demand. And naturally there is the revolutionary reaction:
“To paraphrase Trotsky, let us turn to these artists, their billionaire patrons and toadying curators and say: “You are pitiful, isolated individuals. You are bankrupts. Your role is played out. Go where you belong from now on—into the dustbin of art history!”