THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF THE VISUAL ARTS Volume 31 No. 4 March/April 2017 £4 UK/ $6.00 US/ $7.75 Canada/ C=6.50 Europe Established 1973 ENERGY IN MOTION “Abstract Expressionism” at London’s Royal Acadamy of Art Page 10 By Stephen Eisenman “Blood-drenched Brushes and Golden Easels” — JORGE BENITEZ’S second installment in his trilogy, The Avant-Garde and the Delusion of American Exceptionalism Page 13 Has the Arts Council Betrayed Its Origins? — DAVID LEE examines Nicholas Serota’s new leadership of the Arts Council Page 16 NEW ART EXAMINER CONTENTS 5 LETTERS 7 Editorials 8 Op Ed BRUCE THORN: Art in Our Time and Political Milieu 9 Speakeasy STEPHEN FELMINHAM: Art is Our Weapon 10 Energy in Motion STEPHEN EISENMAN reviews “Abstract Expressionism” at London’s Royal Academy of Art 13 “Blood-drenched Brushes and Golden Easels” JORGE MIGUEL BENITEZ’S second essay of his trilogy: The Avant-Garde and the Delusion of American Exceptionalism 16 Has the Arts Council Betrayed Its Origins? DAVID LEE examines Nicholas Serota’s new leadership of the Arts Council and the history of this body and its current policies against its founding principles 27 U.S. Reviews 27 “There was a whole collection made: Photography from Lester and Betty Guttman” by JENNIFER MURRAY 28 “Kemang Wa Lehulere: In All My Wildest Dreams” by EVAN CARTER 30 “Unreal Realms” Five Outsider Artists at Intuit Gallery by EVAN CARTER (continued on page 2) 1 NEW ART EXAMINER CONTENTS (continued from page 1) 32 Europe Review 32 “Yve Klein at the Tate Liverpool” by GUY BARKLEY-SMITH 33 Book Reviews 33 “The Arts Club of Chicago at 100: Arts and Culture 1916–2016” by EVANGELINE REID 35 “Before Pictures” Douglas Crimp’s autobiographical tale by Tom Mullaney 37 SCOUTING THE BLOGS Re-Politicizing the Art World THOMAS FELDHACKER looks at the ineffectiveness of protests in the art community “Blood-drenched Brushes and Golden Easels” JORGE MIGUEL BENITEZ’S second essay of his trilogy: The Avant-Garde and the Delusion of 13 American Exceptionalism JOIN THE STRUGGLE November 8, 2016 a new computer game 2 NEW ART EXAMINER NEW ART EXAMINER New Art Examiner STATEMENT OF PURPOSE Derek Guthrie, Publisher and Co-founder The New Art Examiner is a not-for-profit Michel Ségard, Associate Publisher publication whose purpose is to examine the Daniel Nanavati, UK Editor definition and transmission of culture in our [email protected] society; the decision-making processes within Michel Ségard, U.S. Editor museums and schools and the agencies of [email protected] patronage which determine the manner in Tom Mullaney, Senior Editor which culture shall be transmitted; the value systems which presently influence the making Thomas Feldhacker, U..S Business Manager [email protected] of art as well as its study in exhibitions and books; and, in particular, the interaction of Thomas Feldhacker, Social Medial Editor these factors with the visual art milieu. 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NAE Facebook page £100 – US $125 month [email protected] 4 LETTER TO THE EDITOR NEW ART EXAMINER Dear Editor, SEVEN HUNDRED PAGES (or, The Moribund) Measuring The Un-Measurables In The Arts We have become mountains, The cold, seeping upwards Was Pablo Picasso a ‘better’ artist than Salva- Through the wick of our bones, dor Dali? Or is Leonardo Da Vinci the ‘greatest’ The skin of us, artist that ever lived? Or is Damian Hirst the From the solid ground below. ‘winner’ of our modern artists because of his Shrouded in cloud, we lay, commercial success and wealth? I do not think Our days tended toward healing, so, as these terms ‘better’, ‘greatest’ and ‘winner’ Or the reeling sense of death, are subjective, competitive and capitalist market Wheeling us to the grave; terms, that in my opinion, cannot and should not We are horizontal — but creative. be applied to art or indeed the arts in general. Half in and half out Like beauty, love and happiness, the arts fall into Of all the worlds, the elevated category of the un-measurable and We lie to one another, cannot and should not be compared, measured Debaters in our own juices, or be competing for prizes, awards nor indeed Revealing our congealing patronage. Points of view, speaking When one is observing the Turner Prize, the Our atrophied philosophies Oscars or some other competition in the arts, see In the face of oncoming war.