Of course art has no purpose, no "use for". That's not what frivolous means. Nothing I wrote brought up its utility. And this notion of "transcending it's own frivolity" is an ontological nightmare, more idle than anything an aristocrat ever said.

Are you saying the leaves and wine are frivolous or empty? Are you saying the painting is vain? That it's cluttered? Isn't this way of talking about a "great" work kind of strange? And calling "set dressing to accent the model" "significance"?

I'll demur on what the Caravaggio was supposed to about. Renaissance art isn't really my thing. But I don't think you can say the leaves and wine are insignificant. They wouldn't be there otherwise.

'High' and 'low' arts were thoroughly distinguished in Athens, according to Aristotle. Rome had the 'highs' of poetry and oration, and the 'low' Colosseum. The notion is as old as culture itself.

the enemy snuck up behind you…

hey y'know you are much more likely to find me in a dark room listening to talk talk or arthur russel or the dismemberment plan than at the moma. but i'm in the dark room with them, in the basement.

1. If the child is dressed as Bacchus, isn't the subject of the painting Bacchus and the Ancient Greek tradition as much as it is a child? (Is "Bacco" not just Bacchus in Italian? I'm not an expert on Italian, or Caravaggio or Ancient Greece for that matter.)

as I understand it there's no way many of these venues can come up with the cash. the city govt. knows better, with regard to the law and the situation on the ground, but its bleeding from its pension commitments, so they're reaching for any revenue they can get.

it's fair to say to say that judgement improves the more distance we have from the art. but i think that you also have to acknowledge the difference in intention. Caravaggio's paintings, for instance, take Biblical events as their subjects. His work looks to events so great that their example has endured through…

the venues shouldn't be gutted like this, they do v important work in these communities. & good for the av club for looking up the tax laws.

radical

that's quite a leap. i'm not a "right-winger".

https://www.google.com/sear…

meth lab shenanigans here has a sterling dialogue with the Trump Supporters!

the mexicans too

thanks nathan, all the blacks and mexicans who come to your shows feel a lot safer.