THE FUNDAMENTAL DIVIDE (October 12, 2000)

The fundamental divide in the Twentieth Century art concerns the artist’s intentions and their determinants. One camp, led by Duchamp, maintains that intentions are irrelevant; the other, led by Mondrian, Kandinsky, and Malevich, maintains that they are central. These two positions are fundamental in the sense that they are irreconcilable, that is, irreducible to a common base. Artists themselves must discover or decide to which camp they wish to go. As for myself, I am squarely with Mondrian, Kandinsky, and Malevich.