美国国家杂志奖“最佳版面设计”获奖作品5

2Mount.ac:blankG5copy7/2/0810:53AMPage168NICKMOUNTTheReturnofBeautyYoufindoneonMadisonStreet,nearPike,beyondtheshadowoftheManhattanBridge.Ithoversonthewallofamakeshiftparkinglot,overexhaust,rust,oldtags.Itshouldn’tbehere,butthereitis–ahummingbird.Life-sizeandlifelike,putinflightbytheoldpainter’stricksofshadowandlight.Youcouldhavethoughtitrealbutforitscolours,whichcomefromart,notnature–fromthegraffitibehindit,itsbackdropanditsancestor.Itscreatorsayshewantsthebirdtogivepause,andthat’sjustwhatitdoes.Givepause.Becausehere,inanuglycornerofanuglycity,withinchokingdistanceofthewreckageofanuglyact,youhavefoundtheoppositeofugly.Here,beautyisback.IN1917,MarcelDuchampboughtaurinalfromaNewYorkironworks,signedit“R.Mutt,”andentereditintheexhibitionofNewYork’sSocietyofIndependentArtists.Andso,thestorygoes,atoiletconqueredtheworld.In2004,apollof500artists,curators,critics,andartdealersnamedDuchamp’sFountainthemostinfluentialartobjectofthetwentiethcentury.Avant-gardeartistslikeDuchamprefusedtoproduceartfortheplea-sureofasocietytheyheldresponsiblefor,amongotherthings,WorldWarI.TheywalkedawayfromadefinitionofartthathadruledtheWestforover2,000years:nomorebeautifulimitations.Artshouldbeaconcept,notacopy.Itshoulddisturb,notplease.Mostimportant,itshouldnotbebeautiful.TheAmericanpainterBarnettNewmansaiditclearest:“Theimpulseofmodernartwastodestroybeauty.”Queen’sQuarterly115/2(Summer2008)|169NICKMOUNTteachesintheDepartmentofEnglishattheUniversityofToronto.HeistheauthorofWhenCanadianLiteratureMovedtoNewYork,winnerofthe2005GabrielleRoyPrize.DanWitz,MadisonnearPitt,NewYorkCity,2000.2Mount.ac:blankG5copy7/2/0810:53AMPage169That’swhyDuchamp’surinalwastherightchoiceforthemostinfluentialartobjectofourtime.Thereareexceptions,butallitshouldtakeisawalkthroughanymajorartgallerytoconvinceyouthatfortwentieth-centuryart,beautyreallyisn’tthepoint.That’snottosaythatit’snotart,orthatit’snotgoodart.Infact,accordingtothephilosopherArthurC.Danto,authorofthebestofseveralrecentver-sionsofthisstory,thatwasthemaininsightofmodernart:artdoesnothavetobebeautifultobeart.Ifatriptothegallerydoesn’tconvinceyou–ifyoustillsayDuchamp’surinalisbeautiful,orPicasso’swomen,orPollock’ssplat-ters,orHirst’srottinganimals–blameyourobviouslyexpensiveedu-cation.Initsattempttoexplainthevalueofavant-gardeart,artcriticismfellbackonart’straditionalvalue.Againandagain,curatorsandcriticssaidthisnewartwasbeautiful,ifwecouldonlyopenoureyes.Evenwhentheirowneyestoldthemotherwise.ClementGreenberg,America’smostinfluentialmodernistartcritic,saiditmorebaldlythanmost:“Pollock’sbadtasteisinrealitysimplyhis170|Queen’sQuarterly2Mount.ac:blankG5copy7/2/0810:53AMPage170willingnesstobeuglyintermsofcontemporarytaste.Inthecourseoftimethisuglinesswillbecomeanewstandardofbeauty.”Greenbergwasright–morerightthanhewouldhaveliked,espe-ciallyasaNewYorker.AfterSeptember11,theFrenchphilosopherJeanBaudrillardwrotethat“Bythegraceofterrorism,theWorldTradeCenterhasbecometheworld’smostbeautifulbuilding–theeighthwonderoftheworld!”TheNewYorkTimescalledBaudrillardcold-blooded,butBaudrillardwasn’tespeciallycold-blooded,justespeciallyeducated.Hecouldcallthewreckagebeautifulbecausehehadingested,morethoroughlythanmost,themodernistlessonthattheuglyisbeautiful,initsownway.BEAUTYhadotherenemiesinthelastcen-turybesidestheavant-gardeandRayStevens.Feminismattackedthe“beautymyth,”thereductionoffemaleappear-ancetoasingle,maleideal.Poststructuralismandmulticulturalismchippedawayatuniversalsingeneral,Europeanuniversalsinpartic-ular.Artelevatedconceptsoveraestheticstoitslogicalend:theexplicitexclusionofapoliticalartfromtheinternationalexhibitiondocumentaXin1997.Inthegalleries,uglywasthenewbeauty.Intheclassrooms,everyonewasbeautiful.Forgoodandnoblereasons,both.Butinbecominganything,beautybecamenothing,awordthatcoulddescribeanythingandthat,consequently,noonecoulddescribe.Beautyneverleft,ofcourse.Exiledfromhighculture,itfoundahomethroughoutthecenturyinmassculture,initsmovies,maga-zines,music,advertising.Ononeside,cubistprostitutes;ontheother,BarbiesandBritneys.Advertisingespeciallywelcomedbeauty:itsseduction,itsyouth,itspromiseofbettersexandabetterlife.Today,Plato’sSymposiumisamarketingmanual.Whilehighartandhightheoryhaveneverbeensoscepticalofbeauty,dailyexperiencehasneverbeensocertain.Countlesspsycho-logicalstudiesshowusagreeingonthemostattractivehumanface,agreementthatcutsacrossgender,class,age,evenrace.Thejuryisstilloutonwhetherthisconsensuscomesfromnatureornurture,sur-vivaloftheprettiestorAmerica’sNextTopModel.Butattheveryleast,globalmassculturehasrefinedoureverydaytastewhilehighculturehasfailedutterlytochangeit.Withthebestofintentions,thetwenti-ethcenturysurrenderedbeautytocommerce.Forbeautifulart,wegotbeautifulshoes.Forbeautifulcities,beautifulbillboards.TheReturnofBeauty|1712Mount.ac:blankG5copy7/2/0810:53AMPage171IN1993,themaverickAmericanartcriticDaveHickeysurprisedtheartworldandhimselfbydeclar-ingataconferencethat“Theissueoftheninetieswillbebeauty.”Thefol-lowingyear,theNewYorker’sfutureheadartcritic,PeterSchjeldahl,wrote