Political art is criticized (by those who absorbed the esthetic biases of the 1950s for formalism and abstraction) for its tendentiousness and lack of visual sophistication: it's mere propaganda, goes the line, too easy, and evanescent. Conceptual art is criticized for exactly the opposite reasons: it's abstruse and cerebral and not visually compelling; it's in effect, if not in intent, elitist. There's some truth to both charges, of course (though there are certainly exceptions), but in the current political and cultural moment, perhaps an art addressing our real-world challenges might be a good idea. The notion of combining the complementary... Read More