Monday, August 4, 2008

“Les Demoiselles d’Avignon" Rules


This, I loved reading about. Especially because I also think that Picasso's “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,” is one of the best gifts of the 20th-century.
A bit from the Times feature says:

"Ask David Galenson to name the single greatest work of art from the 20th century, and he unhesitatingly answers “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,” a 1907 painting by Picasso.
His confidence in the ranking doesn’t come from a stack of degrees in art history (though he has read a lot on the subject). After all, Mr. Galenson is an economist at the University of Chicago who initially specialized in colonial America....
His statistical approach has led to what he says is a radically new interpretation of 20th-century art, one he is certain art historians will hate. It is based in part on how frequently an illustration of a work appears in textbooks.
“Quantification has been almost totally absent from art history,” he said. “Art historians hate markets.”

Great read.
graph per google image

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Mr. Danto said: “I don’t see the method as anything except circular. The frequency of an illustration doesn’t seem to me to really explain what makes an idea good."
I'd concur with this....

Anonymous said...

Really, Picasso's your fave!?!?

Unknown said...

It makes sense why, though....
Did you once do a compare/contrast of this and Rite of Spring....?