Art historian and critic Brian T. Allen will examine how critics, curators, funders, artists and the broader public judge the quality of art and architecture in a talk on Monday, October 19 at 5:30 p.m. in Statler Hall, Rm. 291. “Who Decides What's Good? Art, Architecture, and Democracy” is sponsored by the Program on Freedom and Free Societies (F&FS) and is free and open to the general public. It will also be livestreamed; register for the livestream.
“Brian is ideally qualified to discuss this subject,” said Michael Fontaine, professor of classics in the College of Arts and Sciences and director of F&FS. “In addition to being a critic and art historian, as well as a museum director and curator, he has worked in practical politics. He is a man with definite opinions, reasonably expressed.”
Allen notes that beauty, craftsmanship, originality and a work’s relationship to artistic tradition have long served as central – if now contested – standards, especially in public spaces or work supported by public funds. Today, the identity of the artist and the social or political significance of the subject often play a larger role. “Who decides what’s good?” becomes urgent in a democracy when the work in question helps shape the shared public realm.
In his talk, Allen will explore who should shape that public realm and by what standards: architects and cultural institutions, elected officials or citizens themselves? Drawing on exhibitions he has admired and abhorred, current disputes over Washington’s civic architecture, and debates about government involvement in the arts, Allen will weigh the new standards against the old and consider what happens when expertise, democratic authority, and popular judgment point in different directions.
Allen has been the director of the museum division of the New York Historical Society, director of the Addison Gallery of American Art in Andover, MA, and a curator at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, MA. He has a B.A. from Wesleyan University, a law degree from the University of Connecticut, an M.A. in art history from Williams College, and a Ph.D. in art history from Yale University. His academic specialty is early 19th century American painting, but he considers himself a generalist. He is currently the art critic for National Review.
In addition to having organized dozens of exhibitions and writing on a wide variety of topics including American 19th century art, Romantic era poetry and French Barbizon painting, Allen has just finished his manuscript for a biography of the art dealer Allan Stone. Before embarking on his career as a curator, critic and art historian, he practiced law with the firm of Day, Berry & Howard and served as chief of staff for the president pro tempore of the Connecticut General Assembly.
The talk is co-sponsored by the Departments of Government (A&S) and Architecture (College of Art, Architecture and Planning).
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