Should the Director of LA MOCA, Jeffrey Deitch, resign or be fired?

An anonymous street artist supports Blu while challenging the authority of Jeffrey Deitch

Should the Director of LA MOCA, Jeffrey Deitch, resign or be fired?

There has been a steady flow of debate concerning Jeffrey Deitch’s decision to whitewash a mural outside of LA MOCA. The commissioned mural was destroyed before being finished due to concerns that it would cause public outrage. Deitch felt the theme of the mural would be considered insensitive since the location was near a Veterans Affairs hospital and a war memorial to Japanese-American soldiers. However, no complaints were made to warrant consideration of the murals destruction-- apparently Deitch was taking a preemptive strike to ward of controversy. Deitch has stated that his decision was a “curatorial choice” and should not be confused with an act of censorship. Needless to say, many-- especially in the street artist community-- disagree with Deitch on this issue.

Opposing Views: Who Determines Art Exhibit Content? by Kimberly Reed-Deemer

Opposing Views: Who Determines Art Exhibit Content? by Kimberly Reed-Deemer

I’ve decided to start a blog series that focuses on opposing views-- the target… My views. For the debut of this series I offered artist Kimberly Reed-Deemer the chance to discuss her thoughts concerning my views on the issue of public funded art.

Kimberly Reed-Deemer is a New Mexico artist with a background in fine art, paleoanthropology, scientific illustration, and museum design and construction. Kimberly takes issue with some of the opinions I expressed in the following articles:

Brian Sherwin: Art writer to be feared? Thoughts on public funded art exhibits…
http://briansherwin-artcritic.blogspot.com/2010/12/brian-sherwin-art-writer-to-be-feared.html

Brian Sherwin on Art, Politics, and Censorship
http://briansherwin-artcritic.blogspot.com/2010/12/brian-sherwin-on-art-politics-and.html

Kimberly Reed-Deemer’s guest blog article is an insightful read-- I hope that you enjoy it as I have.

Who Determines Art Exhibit Content? by Kimberly Reed-Deemer

I share Brian Sherwin’s view that publicly funded art museums and exhibit spaces should represent a cross section of perspectives, but I arrive at this conclusion along a path slightly different from Brian’s. Being an unabashed political and social liberal, I have an obligation to address issues of justice when I encounter them, which is one of the reasons why I support opening publicly funded museum exhibits to include a diversity of viewpoints and perspectives, even those views I vehemently oppose. This doesn’t mean I attribute a blind equivalence to all perspectives, however. On the contrary, not all perspectives are of equal merit, and this is precisely why they must be examined in the open light of public discourse, and especially in comparison to competing views where rigorous analysis will identify and discredit flawed perspectives.

Brian Sherwin: Art writer to be feared? Thoughts on public funded art exhibits…

Brian Sherwin: Art writer to be feared? Thoughts on public funded art exhibits…

It has come to my attention that certain individuals within the professional mainstream art world are wary of my opinions concerning the state of the art world today-- mainly my suggestion that public funded art exhibit spaces should have to explore a number of opposing social and political themes in order to continue receiving public funding. I'm not going to make a name-dropping game out of this-- these people know who they are and how to reach me if they want to pursue a direct debate on the issue. That said, I do wish to explore the matter and defend my opinion.

My suggestion is very liberal at heart-- in that I think the public would be best served by being introduced to a number of viewpoints in a visual manner based on common themes from both sides of the social and political fence as reflected in the core of national debates on key issues. To me that is balance-- and I fail to see why anyone who truly supports art would oppose my position unless their own social and political view comes before art in general and are already being served by the state of public funded art exhibits today.

And the Worst Visual Artist of the Year is…

And the Worst Visual Artist of the Year is…

Unless you follow the hardcore art blogging scene-- or are simply informed about art beyond knowing that Vincent van Gogh cut off his ear or that Pablo Picasso was a womanizer-- it often seems that online art debates, such as the ones you may find on Facebook groups or Myspace forums, boil down to petty rants that are infused with misdirected passion. Said rants tend to involve who the worst artist is or emotive tirades about what someone views as the worst art-- be it style or a specific work of art. While I normally do not involve myself with futile debates that strive to demonize or poke fun at a specific artist or work of art I do find the idea of ‘worst art’ or ‘worst artist’ to be both amusing and appealing.