What Is Art?

Like Al Martinez, I have never seen the sculpture “Requiem” by Erwin Binder. Unlike Al Martinez, I would not presuppose it to be good, bad or indifferent art until I had seen the actual piece.

Martinez, who apparently views art with a closed mind and an open mouth, reiterates (Oct. 26) the middle-brow bromide that art must somehow be representational of nature. Note for example that after seeing a photo of sculptor Binder’s work, Martinez refers to it as “a strapless bra for someone with three breasts each a different size.” The demeaning of art by the use of such silly semantics is hardly original. It has been a common ploy amongst short-sighted critics since the advent of abstract art in the teens of this century.

The theorem projected by Martinez et Al is that if one does not understand it, ridicule it. In so doing, one can thereby avoid unnecessary wear and tear on one’s imagination and thought process.

ED KYSAR

Reseda