Do we really need art critics nowadays? Do we need any kind of critic? Don’t we all head to yelp if we want to check out a restaurant or to social media to see what our peers are saying about exhibitions, shows, and concerts? Aren’t we all critics now?
A friend gifted me Jerry Saltz’s latest book, Art is Life. For those who don’t know, Mr Saltz is senior art critic at New York magazine and in 2018 won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. I follow him on Instagram and he has a lot to say for himself. He takes up a lot of space on my feed. In general, I don’t listen to men telling me how to survive in an art world that was created by white men, for the benefit of other white men, but I’m not stupid, I know in whose hands the power lies, and so I read the book. It’s well written. Accomplished. It’s clear from his passionate writing that Mr Saltz is on the side of the artist, not the “art industry”, even though he’s an integral part of the system. He is obviously moved by art, inspired by the artists themselves, and I enjoyed his prosaic descriptions of works he’s viewed and admired - we need more of that in art writing.
The book is largely a compilation of Mr Saltz’s writings from the last twenty years or so, and as such it touches on the reluctant, final breaths of Modernism, its sister Post-Modernism, and the arrival of the cool, street-wise, younger cousin: Contemporary Art. I enjoyed this passage from the book:
As great as many of Modernism’s artists were, much of the art is about itself. For the most part, it’s a matter of white people arguing over other white people’s art history. Once we’ve left those arguments behind, it may be that Modernism’s most striking legacy is the cult of the male artist and the competitive aesthetic messianism it spawned.
The cult of the male artist, indeed.
There’s only so far a white, male, art critic who is fully embedded in, and empowered by the contemporary art system can critique a world in which he is fully centered, and that’s not the aim of this book, so you won’t find any new angles on dismantling patriarchy or colonialism in Art is Life, and for that reason, it won’t stay on my studio shelf for long. A better read might be any one of the numerous, recent books about art history written by women, like Catherine McCormack’s Women in the Picture, Jennifer Higgie’s Mirror and the Palette, Katy Hessel’s The Story of Art Without Men, or this one, How Not to Exclude Artist Mothers (and other parents) by Hettie Judah, which I review below.
I’m an artist mother, I’m actually an artist grandmother too, and an artist wife, and I’ve been an artist daughter. Anyone who holds, or has held, any kind of caregiving role towards family members or friends will resonate with this book. Hettie Judah takes a whirlwind tour through the art industry highlighting the inherent inequities with regard to artist mothers/parents/caregivers and demonstrates through her research that,
…the art world exclude[s] the participation of mothers (and other artists with caring responsibilities) on multiple fronts.
No surprise there! What did astound me was a piece of research carried out by Dr Kate McMillan who undertook a gender ratio survey of London’s commercial galleries in 2016 and 2019. Even though Dr McMillan didn’t directly ask this question, gallerists offered this observation:
Every single gallery identified parenthood as a major obstacle for women artists…
Good grief! And I guess the galleries did/do nothing to rectify this. It’s not just galleries, of course, it’s all art institutions. I remember returning to design school as a “mature student” in my 30s when I had two young children and trying to keep up with students of 18 years old with zero family responsibilities. There was no leeway for me. If I couldn’t attend class because one of my kids was sick, I got a reprimand and a mark against my name. If I couldn’t complete the homework assignment because I was juggling cooking dinner for my family, washing school uniforms, and helping with the kids’ homework, I got a fail. And of course, I ended up dropping out after two years - it was too stressful.
This is an important book and I’m sure I’ll be having lots of conversations with artist friends about it. A must-read for galleries, nonprofits, and any arts organizations that employ caregivers, paid or unpaid.
A bit harsh?
According to the current oracle, ChatGPT:
Art critics often have a deep knowledge of art history and theory, and their insights can influence public perception and understanding of art.
I’m not okay with most of that statement. Which art history are the critics sharing: American/Euro-centered art history? Is the theory grounded in dismantling patriarchy and colonialism in the arts? I also don’t need anyone to influence me - I can discern whether I like a piece of art without guidance. I don’t add works of art to my collection because a critic says the piece is “good” - how can they measure that anyway? If I’m going to read criticism, it needs to be written through an intersectional feminist, de-colonizing lens, and there’s quite simply not enough of that about. I want to read art criticism written by LGBTQIA+, Black, brown, non-white, Indigenous, Romani, non-European, non-Western, folk; people living with disabilities and chronic diseases; neuro-divergent folk; non-MFA holders; anyone who has been sidelined, ignored, and deliberately excluded from the art world.* I don’t need another straight, white guy’s take on art history - no apologies for that.
As I closed the back cover of Jerry Saltz’s book, I noticed there were three endorsements: one from GQ, the men’s lifestyle magazine, one from the English historian, Simon Shama, and one from the American art critic, Peter Schjeldahl. Three men. I rolled my eyes.
Until next time.
JC
*I’ve tried to be inclusive with my language but please comment below if I could have said this better - I want to learn.
Resources that I’m currently valuing:
Katy Hessel’s podcast:
This conversation with Judy Chicago:
I must read that Hetti Judah book(!) TBH, I haven't read much of Jerry Saltz's stuff, but have definitely heard of him.
What a quote(!) "For the most part, it’s a matter of white people arguing over other white people’s art history. "