Artspeak

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the lingo of intellectual kitsch

Artspeak is the jargon of the 'in' critics, celebrities, academics, historians, gallery owners, museum directors and artists. It is a jargon which is unclear even to those who regularly use it. Critics often  refer to it as the 'language of modern art', while constantly lament that almost no one understands it. 

The major rules for writing Artspeak are roughly speaking:

use at least two hundred words where ten will suffice. (flatulence)
use obscure terms especially when writing esoteric theory.  (obscurant)
when stating your subjective opinion make it sound like it is universally accepted as unquestionable truth. (belief)
drop names of famous people wherever possible. This advertises that you are well read. ( I'm an intellectual !)
humor should sound obscure, even grave. (Later modern Artspeak does contain a bit of humor.) (very very serious)
when writing a long statement that means practically nothing, construct it in such a way that it never occurs to  your reader to analyze it. (vacuous)

 

 say what amounts to, "I like this this picture." In very longwinded prose. (I l-l-like it)
propose esoteric theories around unrelated subjects for example the fourth dimension, quantum mechanics, sociological stuff and psycho-babble. (profound theory)-
Propose unexpected comparisons stuff. Good examples are found in five-pound Mondrian books which compare him toVermeer. (pedantic)
write long descriptions for the blind. (For the blind)

 

 

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Abstract Expressionism and kosher holy water
Artspeak
An Example of Artspeak
Behind the behind
Parody and Laughter as Criticism
Good and Evil
Modern Artists I Like
Some of My Work
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Before the advent of the Internet this kind of criticism was impossible.

Copyright 1997-2006 Mani de Li
2006-01-30
Modern Art, Picasso, Matisse, Mondrian, Pollock, de Kooning, Johns, Rothko, Miro, Warhol, Cezanne, Kline, Chagall, Dali, Greenberg, Bauhaus, Barnet Newman, Calder, Castelli, Dubuffet, Duchamp, Gorkey, Guston, Kandinsky, Hans Hofmann, Clement Greenberg, Paul Klee, Motherwell