Should the arts receive public funding? How do art critics tell bad from good art?

1. Review + ClarificationsReview + Clarifications

2. Clarifying liberals vs libertarians:
Liberal:
Social safety nets (welfare),
Green movement,
Gun control,
Pro-choice
Libertarian:
No restrictions on abortions (pro-choice),
No restrictions on marijuana
No restrictions on same-sex marriage
No restrictions on guns
Minimal taxes and minimal government

3. Clarifying conservatives vs libertarians:
Q: What do conservatives and libertarians agree
about?
Libertarian:
No restrictions on abortions (pro-choice),
No restrictions on marijuana
No restrictions on same-sex marriage
No restrictions on guns
Minimal taxes and minimal government

5. Was freedom of speech violated?
 Yes | No 
Scenario A:
Jacqueline makes racist comments about Iraqis and
loses her job. She gets blasted on social media and
her reputation is ruined.
Scenario B:
Denise pitches a show to Netflix, and it’s accepted.
She films the first (pilot) episode, but screener
audiences claim the show is extremely insulting to
the deaf community. Netflix cancels their contract
and won’t move forward with the show.

6. Was freedom of speech violated?
 Yes | No 
Scenario C:
Aaron criticizes Donald Trump in an opinion column.
He is summoned to court and arrested for treason
against the United States.
Scenario D:
Trina goes to Rutgers. She slams Rutgers on her
blog, and she exposes corruption in the
administration. Rutgers puts her on academic
probation and threatens to expel her if she doesn’t
delete her blog post.

7. Was freedom of speech violated?
 Yes | No 
Scenario E and F:
Fred burns flags to protest a new law he doesn’t
like. Kara burns crosses to protest against the
church. Both are arrested.
Scenario G:
Janelle rants against Islam on Twitter. Twitter
deletes her account and all her tweets.

8. Part 1:
Who should get to decide which
art
the public sees?
Part 1:
Who should get to decide which
art
the public sees?

9. NY Dept. of
Cultural Affairs

10. $515,000 + $275,000
‘The Sunbather’ is an
ambitious piece of public art
in our neighborhood. I hope
to see more significant
public artworks installed
throughout New York City.
--Councilman J.V.B.

11. At which point should the city draw the line and cut funding?
What percentage of New Yorkers see their lives improved by
public spending for _____ ?
Sewers
Subway
Central Park
Art Museum
Public Sculpture ?

12. What percentage of New Yorkers see their lives improved by
public spending for _____ ?
Sewers
Subway
Central Park
Art Museum
Public Sculpture ?
People directly benefit because they enjoy this service
People indirectly benefit because this service attracts lots of
people to NYC, which means more jobs, more opportunity

13. Group 1-
Is Kickstarter a substitute for public art grants?
Group 2-
Who should decide which art the public sees?
Group 3-
What percentage of New Yorkers should the
Dept. of Cultural Affairs aim to please?

14. My belief is that art should not be
comforting; for comfort, we have mass
entertainment and one another. Art should
provoke, disturb, arouse our emotions,
expand our sympathies in directions we
may not anticipate and may not even wish.
--Joyce Carol Oates
Agree?  Yes | No 

15. Part 2:
How do we tell good art from bad art?

16. 1. The Originality Test
• Imagine seeing the painting when it was first unveiled.
• How did its style, theme, and composition deviate from what
came before?
Example:
Degas deserves credit for
developing a new style in the
1870s, but if a Degas-copycat
produced similar work in the 1970s,
we’d barely notice it.
(Unfortunately, 98% of artists don’t
innovate, so they don’t score very
high by this metric. Picasso- and
Pollock-types are few and far
between.)
Art Critics find great paintings using . . .

17. 2. The Time Capsule Test
• Might this painting act like a time capsule, preserving the
political attitudes, tastes, or trending worldviews of its time?
Example:
The Creation of Adam has a
very unusual pink shape in
which God and Adam sit. This
painting tells us something
interesting about how folks
back then thought about
childbirth.
Art Critics find great paintings using . . .

18. 3. The Craftsmanship Test
• Ignore historical context for this test
• How strong is the painting’s composition, color, & clarity?
• Is it skillfully painted?
Example:
Picasso’s Old Guitarist is painted
with colors that work together
beautifully. The composition is
strong because _____. The blue
color and the figure’s pose make
the viewer pity this figure (as
Picasso probably did)
Art Critics find great paintings using . . .

19. 4. The Dazzle Test
• Does this work move me? Does it surprise me?
• Just look at it!
• Large size helps.
• Ignore historical context for this test—it’s 100% subjective.
Example:
Thomas Cole’s The Oxbow blows me
away. The painting is enormous,
and it shows me a place I’d love to
be. It’s packed with energy, and
looking at it is such a powerful,
moving experience.
Art Critics find great paintings using . . .

21. Far Side Interlude

22. Far Side Interlude

23. 1 - Originality Test
2 - Time Capsule Test
3 - Craftsmanship Test
4 - Dazzle Test

24. 1 - Originality Test
2 - Time Capsule Test
3 - Craftsmanship Test
4 - Dazzle Test

25. Far Side Interlude

27. 1 - Originality Test
2 - Time Capsule Test
3 - Craftsmanship Test
4 - Dazzle Test

28. 1 - Originality Test
2 - Time Capsule Test
3 - Craftsmanship Test
4 - Dazzle Test

29. << Art market is a scam? >>

30. Joshua Eckert, 2018
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