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Is the "Sensation" Art Worth the Fuss?

Posted Thursday, Oct. 7, 1999, at 3:10 AM ET

Dear David,

It's way too late in the day (not to mention the century) for me to respond properly to your comments about formalism, storytelling, and so on. I'd like to wrap up by saying that, all in all, I found your comments energetic and thoughtful, and I am beginning to feel some kind of affection for you. On the other hand, must you be so pedantic? You write as if you're sitting at a desk with a pipe in your mouth.

You are young. There is time. You will grow wise over the years. Or you won't. In the meantime, I urge you not to mistake teas for living and to try to stay open to all that is new and unsettling to you. Be shocked. Be enchanted. Be inspired. Without that, there is nothing at all, other than the Gap and Banana Republic.

Lunch would be fine.

Truly,

Deborah

Posted Thursday, Oct. 7, 1999, at 3:10 AM ET
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Art critic David Cohen is editor of the online journal artcritical.com and gallery director at the New York Studio School. Deborah Solomon writes about art for the New York Times. She is the author of Utopia Parkway: The Life and Work of Joseph Cornell (click here to buy the book). Click here to view the entire "Sensation" show online.
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