The ‘Art Talker’

I award David Pagel the un-COLA award for his superlative “art-talk,” i.e., a specialized language understood only by other “art talkers” such as Christopher Knight (“Not-So-Striking Resemblances Mark ‘COLA 2000,’ ” May 3).

I went to the Hammer to see Hockney’s pretty terrific “camera lucida” drawings and wandered through the rest of the exhibits. I think that Armand would be turning over in his grave were he to visit “his” museum and see these exhibits, which include the glorification of graffiti and taggers.

What is in museums these days seems to please the curators and reviewers but alienates almost everyone else. Yes, I know that “art is in the eye of the beholder,” but it doesn’t take a genius to know when one is being hoodwinked.

As Humpty Dumpty said to Alice, “A word will mean what I want it to mean.” Humpty would be envious of you and your art reviewer pals’ ability to exalt garbage into high art.

DORIS N. FINCK

Los Angeles