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An Art Everywhere billboard in Times Square
(Eric Thayer/Getty)
All over the country this month, 50,000 billboards and bus
shelters and video screens will display images of famous American works
of art. The project is called Art Everywhere, a push by an
outdoor advertising association and a handful of powerful American
museums. You might see Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks" in Times Square, Charles Sheeler’s "Classic Landscape" on a highway billboard, or Grant Wood's "American Gothic" on a newsstand. The organizers say they hope the sightings will get more people to visit museums.
But do these already iconic artworks need more attention? Peter Schjeldahl, art critic for The New Yorker, wrote this week that overcrowding at some major museums has become so bad that it has made it impossible to engage with the art. “Art has taken on this strange glamor,” he tells Kurt Andersen. “The love of it has become quantified by dollars in the market and fannies through the door of museums.”
To choose the works featured in Art Everywhere, 170,000 people voted online from among 100 artworks selected by the participating museums. "Nighthawks" won the top spot. Art Everywhere is also holding a social media contest in which people post selfies in front of the displays. Schjeldahl considers the initiative “sentimental and pious,” based on a nebulous idea of that “art is good for you. No it isn’t!” Real art, he thinks, doesn’t need an ad campaign.
Has art become too popular for its own good? Tell us in a comment.
But do these already iconic artworks need more attention? Peter Schjeldahl, art critic for The New Yorker, wrote this week that overcrowding at some major museums has become so bad that it has made it impossible to engage with the art. “Art has taken on this strange glamor,” he tells Kurt Andersen. “The love of it has become quantified by dollars in the market and fannies through the door of museums.”
To choose the works featured in Art Everywhere, 170,000 people voted online from among 100 artworks selected by the participating museums. "Nighthawks" won the top spot. Art Everywhere is also holding a social media contest in which people post selfies in front of the displays. Schjeldahl considers the initiative “sentimental and pious,” based on a nebulous idea of that “art is good for you. No it isn’t!” Real art, he thinks, doesn’t need an ad campaign.
Has art become too popular for its own good? Tell us in a comment.
Here, There and Everywhere
Artist: Stanley TurrentineAlbum: The Look of LoveLabel: Blue Note
Music Playlist
Guests:
Peter SchjeldahlProduced by:
Sruthi Pinnamaneni- Leave a comment
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Comments [4]
Want to see "Art for the Thinking Man/Woman", take a look at "Gary Aagaard", website. Amazing!!!!
Aug. 16 2014 07:17 PM
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When every local art gallery and
lesser known museum is filled every day with art lovers, and citizens
flock to installations of public art, I'll be thrilled to say that art
may finally have the popularity and appreciation it deserves.
Aug. 16 2014 04:24 PM
Score: 0/0
Score: 0/0
Who cares what one self-absorbed
art snob thinks? The New Yorker doesn’t need to give troll Peter
Schjeldahl, and his ilk, an ad campaign.
50,000 billboards and bus shelters and video screens displaying images of famous American works of art is a terrific idea! Thank you, Art Everywhere!
50,000 billboards and bus shelters and video screens displaying images of famous American works of art is a terrific idea! Thank you, Art Everywhere!
Aug. 15 2014 05:44 PM
Score: 0/0
Score: 0/0
It's hilarious that the art
critic of the NEW YORKER should decry the replacement of Juicy Couture
ads with iconic American art on the billboards of Times Square. Art is
not good for us, soft porn is? Art on public display-- the gateway to
further overcrowding of museums. Give us a break!
Aug. 15 2014 12:32 PM
