Critic’s comments are artless to some

THE following line opens Christopher Knight’s “review” of “The Anti-War Show” (“In Graphic Protest,” Jan. 15): “The imbecilic plan for war with Iraq currently on offer from the Bush administration has yet to register much support from the American public.”

I don’t know what’s more galling, or more insulting: Knight’s arrogance and abuse of his position in venting his political beliefs under the cover of art critic, or The Times’ deception in couching this editorializing under the subject header “Art Review.”

In the first three paragraphs of the editorial -- let’s just put aside any pretense of calling it a review -- Knight ridicules Bush’s policies before ever mentioning the exhibit he is allegedly reviewing, or not reviewing, in this case. Talk about imbecilic.

Jeff Weinstock

Sherman Oaks

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THE lead photo depicts a gallery visitor wearing a T-shirt that reads “No Mo’ Whitey Imperialist War,” with the article starting out in oversized type, “The imbecilic plan for war with Iraq currently on offer from the Bush administration ....”

Would this piece have been printed had the visitor’s T-shirt read “No Mo’ Towel Head Maniacs” and had Knight called it “the brilliant plan for war”?

Racially directed propaganda serves no legitimate purpose regardless of its slant, and it detracts from the art show’s message (which was clearly not derogatory to Caucasians as a stereotype) by reducing it to something simplistic and ugly. Shame on you!

Lisa Macha

Santa Monica

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LET’S discuss landscapes instead of political posters. How distorted can a political landscape become when Christopher Knight, referring to the dissemination of political poster art over the Net, writes with an offensive attempt at irony, “the Internet, originally conceived by the U.S. Defense Department, gets used as an instrument of democracy.”

Mr. Knight, who do you think is partly responsible for preserving our democracy if not the men and women who defend our country? Talk about an imbecile!

Bob Schuchman

Redondo Beach

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AFTER reading the opening sentence of Christopher Knight’s piece, I thought I might be reading an article from the L.A. Weekly rather than the L.A. Times. Statements such as this, in something other than an op-ed piece, certainly go a long way in support of the argument asserting the proliferation of a “left-leaning” press.

Robin Swenson

Sherman Oaks