1492

 One of the best art exhibits I ever saw was “1492.” This exhibition presented some of the greatest art produced by all the cultures making art in the year 1492. The range of objects and imagery was staggering in quality and diversity. 

In our times there is also a great diversity of art, especially since we are living in a world of more than 7 billion people with wide freedom of expression. In the midst of such visual clamor, critics and art historians take on the task of producing some kind of order and sense.  The result is usually naming isms and movements, clustering artists together and identifying--de facto--which art is most significant.

These decisions filter down very often to educational, museum and coffee table book contexts. The artists missed in the ism sweep are often passed over or forgotten until individuals with an appreciation for those artists give the time and effort that leads to rediscovery.

Art presents itself as all about the artist who is original, marginal or “out there.” Yet these are the artists often excluded or forgotten in the identification of style or fashion. To me, this is the reason why excellence should be a primary criterion in asserting the worth of art.