Is art criticism still relevant today?
It was March 24, and a poignant exhibition of contemporary art from Colombo, Matara and Jaffna marked the monumentally titled “International Day for the Right to Truth – Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims.” In what felt like an atmosphere of renewed expectations and ingrained skepticism, we waited for a trilingual discussion to begin on the intersection between art and politics.
The leading sociologist next to me introduced me to the acclaimed anthropologist and filmmaker beside her. “And what do you do?” the latter asked, head-cocked to the side, already studying me. “I’m an art critic,” I replied, ready for the quizzical smile this response often engenders.
On the one hand, it shouldn’t seem strange that an art critic would be at an art exhibition. On the other, it is easy to see why people might question the role of art criticism at a moment like this – especially in post-war Sri Lanka, which is currently focused on redressing past atrocities and re-building national accord.
News of other pressing situations from around the region filled my social media feed that week; Lahore bomb blasts and Hyderabad Central University protests. In a world filled with such urgency and uncertainty, it is no wonder that the practice of an art critic may appear obscure or esoteric. Why would anyone want to delve into art at times like these?
Even within the global art world, art criticism’s standing has been under fire for some time. This is due to several historical and cultural shifts. Suffice to say, many art professionals I have spoken to over the last decade have labelled the discipline as “in crisis” or even “dead.” This may be rather dramatic, but it is not entirely unfounded.
Much of the art writing we see nowadays (of which criticism is a distinct part) seems to leave its readers unsatisfied; as it falls into the highbrowed academic category or the watered-down journalistic. Whereas the former is often too self-referential, the latter does not always do justice to the art.
Having said this, writing off an entire field feels somewhat lazy. Surely, if we dig a little deeper, it is possible to find critics out there able to articulate things in an accessible and profound manner; and who remind us of how art is pertinent and relevant to the world?
After Belgium’s terrorist attack took place on March 22, art critic Jason Farago penned an immediate response for the New Yorker. It looked at the significance of Belgian artist Marcel Broodthauer’s artworks in light of the events of the day – and discussed ideas of nationhood, identity, borders, violence and colonialism.
“We need more criticism that understands the place of art within an interlocked, global system that overlaps with politics and economics, and less writing that uses art as mere illustration for “non-art” concerns,” he says.
A tall order; but these are approaches Farago tries to pursue within his new publication, “Even,” which he launched in May 2015. The art magazine aims to produce in-depth critique, do away with jargon and locate art within the present moment.
Another critic, the Beirut-based Kaelen Wilson-Goldie, also writes for art publications (Art Forum, Frieze and Bidoun) as well as newspapers. Farago considers her “one of the best critics of this generation.”
Her online essays include those on the Istanbul biennale set against the backdrop of the European migration crisis, and on comics and censorship in the Islamic world pre- and post-Charlie Hebdo.
“I write about art because I love it and I believe in it,” says Wilson-Goldie. “I want it to be central to debates about what’s happening in the world and to our experience of it. The fact that I live in a place that is so troubled, where I think art often has something very important to say, is also a huge motivation.”
The world at large is also motivation for a number of contemporary artists – whose research and practice can explore disciplines as diverse as ecology, philosophy, technology and science fiction. Writing about such wonderful and disturbing work can feel like a privilege and a responsibility.
That may be true, but the reality of it is less romantic. “In financial terms, it is barely possible to have a career as an art critic,” says Farago. Many critics also work in other sectors of the art world. This wearing of many hats has its upsides and downsides. At worst, it can lead to conflicts of interest and influence the writing produced.
“To really speak the truth, to write without burden or loyalty and to remain entirely independent is hard,” says Delhi-based artist, poet and art critic Himali Singh Soin. “I choose cleanliness and philosophy over compromise and pandering.”
Another critic of contemporary art in the region, Meenakshi Thirukode, agrees that writers should be unafraid of taking a stand. “I want to hear more critical, constructive voices,” she says. “I want to be able to disagree and fight and be sour! I want writing that challenges.”
The challenge for critics, in turn, is to persist with the practice despite the odds, to sustain oneself when it’s easier to sell out, and to give the ‘dying’ field new forms. Soin looks at doing the latter through her penchant for the poetic, and Thirukode by lending the practice a contemporary theoretical lens.
Writing about any subject, it seems, requires rigour, commitment and restraint. But perhaps the reason to write – and read – about art is because it is ultimately connected to everything around us. Delving into the powerful ideas that drive it and that it generates, can often surprise, challenge and push our own understanding of the world.
“After doing this for almost 20 years, and really loving it, I don’t know why I would do anything else,” sums up Wilson-Goldie.
Back in the humid JDA Perera gallery that day, much of the discussion revolved around Sri Lanka’s moves toward notions of ‘transitional justice’ and ‘reconciliation.’ At the heart of it all, lay the fundamental idea of truth, which one of the organizers suggested was better understood in this context as a series of unfolding “multiple truths.”
Thinking through the concepts and questions proposed within the exhibition itself would have greatly added to the conversation – and the understanding of these multiple truths. The works on display, by artists and thinkers from around Sri Lanka, were full of narratives and ideas which asked us to look, and think, again.
Art has a way of telling us about some of the things that headlines can’t ever capture; and art critics – well they think about which parts do that and why. To debate, disagree with or add to such thinking makes sense; to simply dismiss it – not so much.
* Art as a Place derives its name from the Sarai Reader 09 exhibition (2013) in New Delhi curated by Raqs Media Collective.