IN THE FLOW

In the early twentieth century, art and its institutions came under critique from a new democratic and egalitarian spirit. The notio n of works of art as sacred objects was decried and subsequently they would be understood merely as things. This meant an attack on realism, as well as on the traditional preservative mission of the museum. Acclaimed art theorist Boris Groys argues this led to the development of direct realism: an art that would not produce objects, but practices (from performance art to relational aesthetic s) that wou...[Read more]