Probably Only An Art-worlder Like Me Could

Early-twentieth-century Abstraction Is Art's Version Of Einstein's Theory Of Relativity. It's The Idea That Changed Everything Everywhere: Quickly, Decisively, For Good.

Ofili Is Still A Champion. It Would Be A Huge Mistake To Think Otherwise.

It's Art That Pushes Against Psychological And Social Expectations, That Tries To Transform Decay Into Something Generative, That Is Replicative In A Baroque Way, That Isn't About Progress, And Wants To - As Walt Whitman Put It - 'contain Multitudes.'

The Reason The Art World Doesn't Respond To Kinkade Is Because None - Not One - Of His Ideas About Subject-matter, Surface, Color, Composition, Touch, Scale, Form, Or Skill Is Remotely Original. They're All Cliche And Already Told.

Billions Of Photos Are Shot Every Year, And About The Toughest Thing A Photographer Can Do Is Invent An Original, Deeply Personal, Instantly Recognizable Visual Style. In The Early Nineties, Wolfgang Tillmans Did Just That, Transforming Himself Into A New Kind Of Artist-photographer Of Modern Life.