‘Degenerate Art’: For Some, Ugly Too Is in the Eye of the Beholder

I read in disbelief the three letters of Feb. 17 responding to Suzanne Muchnic’s Feb. 9 article on the “Degenerate Art” show at the L.A. County Museum of Art.

What is hard for me to believe is that these viewpoints (which bear a striking resemblance to those of Hitler himself) were presented with no opposing arguments in defense of freedom of personal expression. These people were allowed to discredit the work not only of some of this century’s greatest artists but also curator Stephanie Barron’s three years of research and dedication.

Letter writer Joel Solliday, an adjunct professor at Pepperdine, suggests that “the only claim to fame or legitimacy this art has is that Hitler hated it.” If Mr. Solliday is unaware of the enormous achievements of Marc Chagall, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Wasily Kandinsky, Emil Nolde and Max Beckmann, perhaps his opinion is best left ignored.

Letter writer Diana Magrann suggests that because the works are not aesthetically pleasing by her own standards, the artists were probably “ Angst -ridden and contemptuous of middle-class values.” This premise is obviously a correct one, but to conclude that their art is therefore worthless is to follow the same line of reasoning that Hitler did.

This exhibition needs to be understood not only as a sampling of innovative art but also as a reflection of current situations that are similar to those of 1937. People like Jesse Helms and Adolf Hitler should not be allowed to suppress any creative output.

JEFF DIPERNA

Sherman Oaks