Visiting Artist 11/7
November 6, 2014
Visiting Artist Workshop with
Matt Kalasky '08
Friday, November 7th, 12:30-3:30pm
Peeler Lobby
Matt Kalasky '08, artist and critic from Philadelphia, will be presenting a workshop on Contemporary Methods of Art Criticism this Friday, November 7th, from 12:30-3:30pm in Peeler. Students are invited to bring a piece of art to use as examples for alternative systems of critique.
“Much of the talking and writing around art is vacuous because we are instinctively afraid of what we don't understand, and the writing comes from this fear. It is a fact of evolution. We are programmed on the most basic level to be afraid of what we don't understand, because if we don't understand it, then we cannot predict its behavior. And if we cannot predict its behavior, then it is a potential threat. If it is a potential threat, it is a potential enemy. Which is as good as an enemy. The doubt and insecurity we feel when faced with an artwork we do not understand is a manifestation of the biological threat of the unknown. Our lack of understanding feels like a threat to our ego, and the work is generating this threat. The work is then seen as a challenge. Almost as an affront. How can we assert the abilities of ourselves in the face of the unknown? If it were a living being, we would battle it. But this is an object. A product of thought. And so we assert ourselves through the exercise of Understanding. The artwork becomes something to be conquered through Explanation and Understanding. Explanation and Understanding become weapons in this wrestling. In this dissection. When we understand it, we win. The Subject has been studied. The Conclusions have been drawn. The fight is over. We Win. “