The Week’s Muse: 19 April
How should we look at art? A round-up of discussions on the blog this week
The Sense of Sight (1744–7), Philip Mercier. Yale Center for British Art. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
How does art communicate, and how should we engage with it? We round up some of the discussions from the Muse Room this week.
Art and religion
Is abstract art better than traditional painting at expressing religious themes? This Easter Richard Harries argues that modern and contemporary artists have revitalised Christian imagery.
Learning to look at art
Ben Street argues that art historians, in their quest for context, no longer look closely at art; Danielle Thom counters that curators do so every day. Do we need to rethink how we study and engage with art history?
Culture Secretaries
Will Sajid Javid, the UK’s seventh culture secretary in as many years, stay the course? Thomas Marks discusses the DCMS’s confusing brief, and its problematic top job.
