Thought

My more philosophical articles. I’m not pretentious enough to call myself a philosopher (unless I follow it up with fool as on my About page), but I have been known to ponder some of the big questions. Here there are articles on subjects like free will, consciousness, the purpose of art, and what’s wrong with Postmodernism…

Topics are arranged alphabetically with the most relevant articles toward the top of each section. Some entries fit in more than one category.

AI: Artificial Intelligence

• Google Deep Dream Getting Too Good
• Algorithm Decides Which Art Is The Most Creative.
• Do we live in a simulated universe? Yes, but not one created by aliens.
• Do we live in a simulated universe, Part 2: Rejoinder to Nick Bostrom.
• New Series Underway: Portraits From Alternate Universes

Art Theory

• Dismantling the Dominant Art Narrative
• How Postmodernism Has Worked Against Us.
• What is the Purpose of Visual Art?
• What is Real in Art?
• The “Spiritual” in Art for the Intellectually Rigorous
• “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” Not so fast.
• It’s time to finally retire “radical”
• The argument against artist’s assistants. The doer vs the orderer.
• Evolutionary Vs. Revolutionary and Traditional Art
• F_ck The Fountain!
• Believing is Seeing?
• Inextinguishable Originality: Refuting Rosalind Krauss.
• Why People Hate Contemporary/Conceptual Art (Comprehensive article)
• Why People Hate Conceptual Art: Part 1
• The Debate Over Skill In Visual Art And Conceptual Art [Why People Hate Conceptual Art, Part 2]
• How art history got Jackson Pollock all wrong, and why it matters [Why People Hate Conceptual Art: Part 3].
• The Big Bang of Conceptual Art [Why People Hate Conceptual Art: Part 4]
• Vincent’s dead but he never gets old, and Jeff Koons is already a skeleton.

Censorship

• The Argument for Free Speech & Against Censorship
• Censorship for Good in Art and Politics
• The Waterhouse Water Nymphs Debate: Is Censorship Art?
• Rebuttal to Sonya Boyce’s Defense of Removing Waterhouse’s Painting
• Radical Activists Demand The End of an Artist’s Career
• Censoring and Burning Art in the Name of Progressive Morality
• Chucking out Chuck Close for Allegedly Being Naughty

Morality/Politics and Art (for censorship see above)

1. Is Immoral Art Bad Art?
2. Get Politics the F out of Art!
3. Morality, Politics, Vomit, and Art.
4. Art is Not Inherently Political!
5. Censoring and Burning Art in the Name of Progressive Morality
6. In Defense of Cindy Sherman.
7. People Who Shouldn’t be Allowed to Teach Art!

Philosophy

1. Argument against no free will (determinism)
2. Consciousness, Free Will, and Art
3. How Postmodernism Has Worked Against Us.
4. What Is Consciousness?
5. Do we live in a simulated universe? Yes, but not one created by aliens.
6. Do we live in a simulated universe, Part 2: Rejoinder to Nick Bostrom.
7. Say so long to Solipsism
8. Inextinguishable Originality: Refuting Rosalind Krauss.
9. Rant: Modernism’s shortcomings, debate, being censored, insulted, blocked and banned.
10. Google Deep Dream Getting Too Good
11. Algorithm Decides Which Art Is The Most Creative.
12. What is the Purpose of Visual Art?
13. What is Real in Art?
14. The “Spiritual” in Art for the Intellectually Rigorous

Spiritual

1. The “Spiritual” in Art for the Intellectually Rigorous