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.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of individual experience and interpretation in appreciating art rather than relying on external guidance.
Jerry Saltz expresses his belief that for a critic, attending curator or artist-led walk-throughs can compromise the authenticity of their experience and critique. He values the personal journey of viewing art, making his own interpretations and mistakes, which he believes aligns more closely with the average audience's experience, thereby fostering a more genuine understanding of the art.
In practice
A critic might use this quote in a discussion about the role of personal experience in art criticism at a gallery event.
'Untitled' is a time machine that can transport you to 1992, an edgy moment when the art world was crumbling, money was scarce, and artists like Tiravanija were in the nascent stages of combining Happenings, performance art, John Cage, Joseph Beuys, and the do-it-yourself ethos of punk. Meanwhile, a new art world was coming into being.
Artists working for other artists is all about knowing, learning, unlearning, initiating long-term artistic dialogues, making connections, creating covens, and getting temporary shelter from the storm.
I have a soft spot for art that, in terms of subject matter and material, is in bad taste.
The giant white cube is now impeding rather than enhancing the rhythms of art. It preprograms a viewer's journey, shifts the emphasis from process to product, and lacks individuality and openness. It's not that art should be seen only in rutty bombed-out environments, but it should seem alive.
In art, scandal is a false narrative, a smoke screen that camouflages rather than reveals. When we don't know what we're seeing, we overreact.
Don’t go to a museum with a destination. Museums are wormholes to other worlds. There are ecstasy machines. Follow your eyes to wherever they lead you, stop, get very quiet, and the world should begin to change for you. And if you see me, say something! We can talk about it together.
Writing a book has about it some of the anxiety of telling a joke and having to wait several years to know whether or not it was funny.
I write screenplays in the middle of the night.
I'm always aware of writing around things I can't do, and I've come to think that that's actually what 'style' is - an avoidance of your deficiencies.
No, the thing is, we all love storytelling, and as a writer you get to tell stories all the time.
I am interested in reconstructing symbols. It's about connecting with an older knowledge and trying to discover continuities in why we search for heaven.
It was not the story of design or clothes, it was the fantasy of women that made me want to work in fashion.
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