Who Says That's Art? A Commonsense View of the Visual Arts

by Michelle Marder Kamhi

Today's artworld experts accept virtually anything as "art"—from all-black paintings and facsimiles of supermarket cartons to dead animals preserved in formaldehyde. Many art lovers reject such things, arguing that they are not art. This book explains why those ordinary people are right and the presumed experts are wrong.

Museums and galleries around the world are filled with "cutting-edge" contemporary work that art lovers largely detest, while painters and sculptors whose art the public would appreciate are ignored by the cultural establishment.

How did this happen? What mistaken ideas have led to it? Who is responsible? And what can be done to reverse the situation? Who Says That's Art? answers such questions—in commonsense terms that non-specialists can readily understand.

Many books have attempted to bridge the gap between the public and the contemporary artworld. What makes this book different? Other writers claim that people need to know the theories behind "advanced" work in order to appreciate it. Who Says That's Art? debunks those theories. Moreover, it reveals the cultural forces that collude to promote pseudo art in the contemporary artworld—from art educators and wealthy collectors to museum administrators and the media.

Drawing on evidence ranging from cognitive science to cross-cultural studies, the book explains how and why the traditional arts of painting and sculpture profoundly move us. In contrast, it demonstrates the emptiness of the "installations" and "conceptual art" that dominate the postmodernist artworld. Further, it documents the shallowness of the collectors who pay huge sums for works of contemporary "art" such as a shark in a tank of formaldehyde. Surprisingly, however, the author—unlike most conservative critics—argues that the breakdown of the visual arts actually began with the invention of "abstract art" in the early twentieth century, because it rendered art unintelligible.

In conclusion, Who Says That's Art? highlights the pleasures and rewards of genuine art, both old and new, and suggests how to restore sanity to the contemporary artworld.

Genres: Art

336 pages, Paperback

First published November 14, 2014

About the author

Michelle Marder Kamhi is an independent scholar and critic with an M.A. in Art History. She co-edits the arts journal Aristos, is the author of Who Says That's Art? A Commonsense View of the Visual Arts, and co-authored What Art Is: The Esthetic Theory of Ayn Rand (which was praised as "a balanced critical assessment of Rand’s idiosyncratic arguments" and a "well-documented . . . debunking of twentieth-century art . . . and art theory").

Articles by her have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Arts Education Policy Review, Art Education, and the Journal of Ayn Rand Studies, among other publications. An essay by her is included in the volume After the Avant-Gardes.

Reviews

[Erika Mulvenna · Rating 1 out of 5]

What this author presents as her idea of Fine Art sounds like an argument for esthetics, which seems like a very old fashioned theory to apply to modern art. Michelle Marder Kamhi's background is in studying Art History, which may make her qualified to be an art critic in some ways, but I seriously disagree with her definition of Fine Art.

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is Art? This simple question can cause much hullabaloo among critics, ordinary people, even artists themselves. And the varying definitions of Art have driven the world of art into insanity in the past century. The preeminent proof of this is well observed by the works created by modernists and postmodernists. Many of which are completely asinine contrary to the previous works done by intelligent artists with skills and devotion throughout the history. One would-be-artist, Jeff Koons, took a picture of him and his wife having sex and call that an art work which would have been a pornographic content if done by other people. One so-called sculptor created a figure of a little girl whose eyes are deformed into a male penis. This particular work is displayed and children were encouraged to look at and write about it. There are many other unthinkable examples introduced in this book. Even the definition of art started to include any work that cannot be categorized into something. Kamhi, through this book, screams at those artists and critics who create, allow, even extol this kind of works. Her frustration is well displayed in the book. You will also follow her reasoning and thoughts along with the examples she provides for in this book and wonder what is going on in the world of art? Even without the ridiculous example in the book, you certainly have encountered modern art works and wondered if they were truly art.
While she takes you to this askew artworld of modern times, she also shows great art works done by real artists with skills and ambition. It is regrettable that all those good works are ignored lately. Kamhi blames the entities who are instigating the wrong steps the postmodernists are taking which include art teachers, critics, collectors, trustees, and museum curators. They have made art inaccessible to public. They have their own artworld and create the environment in which whoever does not get their works doesn’t know anything about art. In reality, Art is very natural to humans. Throughout the history of men, people have been drawing and making things for aesthetic purposes and convey feelings and meanings. Every human has an instinct and right to judge the artness of a work. To define only the intelligent can understand their works is very wrong because of the foregoing nature of men. The author pleads with everyone to stop modernism/postmodernism and come back to the art by which we, everybody, can enjoy the aesthetics and be empathetic with the feeling that the creator desired to share.
My knowledge of Art was non-existent before this book. I, like many people, just speculated that art was for certain people who developed specific taste in art. Wrong was I. I cross-referenced every single art work enumerated in the book. Forsooth, art was for everyone, as would a caveman enjoy the Paleolithic cave paintings (cave mural) 17,300 years ago. Reading this book from cover to cover, Not only was I able to explore how postmodernist works are alienated from the public and need fixing, but also well-made art works enrich my life.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michelle Marder Kamhi is a scholar and art critic, and her expertise lies in her ability to get directly to the point. The point provided here is an assessment of what qualifies a piece to be deemed 'fine art'; and in this, Kamhi's scrutiny is unerring.

Who Says That’s Art? A Commonsense View of the Visual Arts deals with the radical transformation of visual art since the early 20th century. The exact nature of these changes, and their overall negative effect, is documented in chapters that excel in specifics: references, analysis, and critical insights on what does or does not deserve to be called 'art'.

Readers will find these insights supported by subjective perspectives as well as by thorough scholarship. Kamhi's enthusiasm for visual art often meets with disappointment at museum and gallery offerings.

Kamhi does not argue that 'real art' is dead: only that a greater measure of critical discretion needs to be applied to identifying it. And here's where she shines, providing non-specialists with a scholarly yet accessible account that not only explains how to distinguish genuine art, but also promises to enhance its appreciation whenever such gems are to be found!

Kamhi’s scrutiny is unerring. . . . providing non-specialists with a scholarly yet accessible account that not only explains how to distinguish genuine art but also promises to enhance its appreciation.

[Frederic De meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Je hoeft niet met alle argumenten van een betoog eens te zijn om de kwaliteiten ervan te erkennen. Het standpunt van Marder tegenover postmoderne kunst is dan nog reductionistisch, zelfs uiterst conservatief te noemen, het neemt niet weg dat ze gaandeweg wel valiede punten maakt. Haar activistische, soms ronduit oneerbiedige stijl verhindert echter een volledig beeld van waar ze voor staat -zo heeft recent neurologisch onderzoek wel deglijk bewezen dat abstracte kunst een effect heeft, en alle vormen van performance art afdoen als ‘on-kunst’ voelt ook onterecht aan. Niettemin het lezen waard, ook (en misschien vooral) als je het niet eens bent met haar stelling.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love art history/art appreciation and learned so much from this book .
The core message is DO NOT trust critics b/c you know more about art or what makes for good art….than you may think you do!

Modern Art? Abstract Expressionism?…is what you make of it to put it bluntly!
Chapters 7-8-9- were “skim-worthy” about museums, critics and collectors.

But do get to chapter 10 where Ms Harder Khami shares her “top-13" works of art. Just beautiful to follow her choices on Google and why she likes these selections.
#WorthYourReadingTime

[Hugo Van Zoest · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inspirerende kruistocht tegen betekenisloze kunst uitingen - als alles kunst is , is niets kunst