‘How Art Became Irrelevant’ - Reflection upon an essay by Michael J. Lewis (2015)

Julianne Lindner

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In his essay ‘How Art Became Irrelevant: A chronological survey of the demise of art’ (July, 2015), Michael J. Lewis warns his readers that art has become irrelevant within our current societies. He bases his argument on the fact that people in the West perceive art with a kind of indifference. This indifference is fatal for the world of fine arts, as according to him art can survive a public that is hostile or even ignorant, however not an indifferent public. Within this short article, I will try to summarise his main line of argumentation and thereby aim to trigger a discussion for the reader at home. Thereby focusing on the question ‘Is art currently irrelevant or is it just taking on another role within societies?’

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(‘A Butterfly’s Dream’ by Kasper Sonne, 2014)

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To fully understand his claim, we have to start from the beginning. Within his essay M. Lewis starts explaining his idea by giving the example of his students’ reaction after seeing the video of an endurance performance. In this performance, artist Chris Burden stood against a wall and asked a friend to shoot him through the arm with a .22 rifle shoot. This happened in 1971 in the California Art Gallery.

(The video can be watched via the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26R9KFdt5aY).

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M. Lewis writes that his students did not seem to be shocked or even touched by the performance at all. Rather than judging it, the students seemed to place the performance within a historical context and tried to explain it. He states that this refusal to judge could be described as tolerance and broadmindedness, but that this is very close to indifference.

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(Sleeping People at Louvre Museum, http://www.magnumphotos.com)

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He admits that nowadays paintings sell for record-high prices and museums experience an increase in the number of visitors. But he claims that this has nothing to do with relevance and importance of current art. Concerning the record-high prices, they are described to be more related to the fiscal health of art instead of their cultural health. Further museums are treated currently more as entertainment and as places for sensation and spectacles taking the role of e.g. circuses a century ago. The public, as it is described in his essay, has disengaged itself collectively from the art world and do not even seem to criticise it any longer. Thereby making art irrelevant.

 

How did this happen?!

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According to M. Lewis, the fine arts and the performing arts do not matter in the Western culture as they do not “longer shape meaningful ways our image of ourselves or define our collective values”. Looking back at the role of art centuries ago, art was perceived in the past as direct expressions of societies that made them. Art changed together with societies. This is, however, not the case anymore. Or as he puts it “Whatever art had to offer—minimalism, conceptualism, photorealism—was a zany precinct where anything might happen, a source of entertainment, a zone that might be safely regarded with benign neglect”. Instead institutions of mass media, commerce and advertising have taken the place and function of art.

 

Based on his argumentation, you could argue that art is no longer relevant as it lost its connection to the current Western society, its identities and its values. However, could you make such a general statement and thereby generalising all the art existing today? Has art perhaps not taken another role within our societies? Or is art not after all a reflection of our current society and thereby reflecting indifference itself too?

 

Thereby, we have come to the end of this short article. Its aim was to make you part of a discussion into the relevance of art in today’s societies. That is why I would love to know what do you think? Do you agree that art is currently irrelevant?

 

To read his full essay, click on the following link:

• https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/how-art-became-irrelevant/

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