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Betty : What is
that?
Katherine : You tell me. Carcass by Soutine. 1925.
Susan Delacorte : It's not on the syllabus.
Katherine : No; it's not. Is it any good? Come on;
ladies. There's no wrong answer. There's also no
textbook telling you what to think. It's not that easy;
is it?
Betty : All right. No. It's not good. In fact; I
wouldn't even call it art. It's
grotesque.
Connie Baker : Is there a rule against art being
grotesque?
Giselle Levy : I think there's something aggressive
about it...and erotic.
Betty : To you; everything is erotic.
Giselle : Everything is erotic.
Katherine : Girls.
Susan : Aren't there standards?
Betty : Of course there are. Otherwise a tacky
velvet
painting could be equated to a Rembrandt.
Connie : My uncle Ferdie has two tacky velvet
paintings. He loves those clowns.
Betty : There are standards; technique; composition;
color; even subject. So if you're suggesting that rotted
side of meat is art... much less good art; then what are
we going to learn?
Katherine : Just that. You have outlined our new
syllabus; Betty. Thank you. What is art? What makes it
good or bad? And who decides? Next slide; please. Twenty
five years ago someone thought this was brilliant.
Connie : I can see that.
Betty : Who?
Katherine : My mother. I painted it for her birthday.
Katherine : Next slide. This is my mom. Is it art?
Susan Delacorte : It's a snapshot.
Katherine : If I told you Ansel Adams had taken it,
would that make a difference?
Betty : Art isn't art until someone says it is.
Katherine : It's art!
Betty : The right people.
Katherine : Who are they?
Giselle : Betty Warren! So lucky we have one right
here.
Betty : Screw you.
Katherine : Could you go back to the Soutine, please?
Just look at it again. Look beyond the paint. Let us try
to open our minds to a new idea. All right; back to
chapter three. Has anyone read it? Okay. |
