No nude, however abstract, should fail to arouse in the spectator some vestige of erotic feeling, even if it be only the faintest shadow - and if it does not do so it is bad art and false morals.
Interpretation
Art, particularly nudes, should evoke some level of erotic response in the viewer to be considered impactful.
In this quote, Kenneth Clark argues that the portrayal of nudes in art is fundamentally linked to the viewer's emotional and erotic response. He suggests that if a piece fails to trigger even a minimal sense of eroticism, it is indicative of poor artistic quality and possibly a failure of moral representation, highlighting the intrinsic relationship between art and human feelings.
In practice
A discussion on the role of nudes in art history during an art class.
The recognized achievements of some Negroes, despite rigid racial barriers, indicate that society by its prejudices may be depriving itself of valuable contributions from many others. It is now doubtful whether America can afford the luxury of such a waste of human resources.
Racial prejudices are indication of a disturbed and potentially unstable society.
Art is going to make a bigger comeback than ever. That's the upside to things getting challenging.
I don't often go to curator or artist walk-throughs of exhibitions. For a critic, it feels like cheating. I want to see shows with my own eyes, making my own mistakes, viewing exhibitions the way most of their audience sees them.
When you begin a picture you often make some pretty discoveries. You must be on guard against these. Destroy the thing, do it over several times. In each destroying of a beautiful discovery, the artist does not really suppress it, but rather condenses it, makes it more substantial. What comes out in the end is the result of discarded finds. Otherwise you become your own connoisseur.
Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.
The goal of design is to raise the expectation of what design can be
We have no longer an outside and an inside as two separate things. Now the outside may come inside and the inside may and does go outside. They are of each other. Form and function thus become one in design and execution if the nature of materials and method and purpose are all in unison.
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