From The Archives Of Franz Golder's Art World-In Defense Of Art Critic Laura Perkins

From The Archives Of Franz Golder's Art World-In Defense Of Art Critic Laura Perkins

By Eric Saint James

Despite what the general public may think the art world is a monstrously dark and dungeon-like place, a place where no quarter is given, none taken where cannibalism is the rule of the day not the exception. Not the art works or the place but the ragamuffin denizens from the starchy volunteer guides to the low-life art gallery owners who plague the markets and who drain the life’s blood out of whatever elevation of human culture even the most contrite and unworthy artist had sweated blood and tears to offer on the altar. What I can’t abide is bullying by the professional cabal from bottom to top of those who have some serious interest art, have some knowledge and who dare to give an opinion not totally in step with whoever is the arbiter of the day, usually some airhead professional art critic who is secretly “on the take,” raking in kale from the gallery owners and auctioneers.

Case in point and the reason that part of my headline read the way it does is that of art critic Laura Perkins in her seemingly never-ending battle with one Clarence Dewar, art critic, make that professional art critic for Art Today. In his erudite reasoning Mr. Dewar has cast aspersions on a series of articles that Ms. Perkins has done one pieces of art and artists who interest her. Why? Ms. Perkins does not belong to the club, is not a professional art critic and therefore should hold her tongue until Mr. Dewar or one of the brethren sends down the word from on high. The beauty of my writing of this particular bum of the month whose last important utterance occurred when he was about six months old is that I know where the bodies are buried, I know where he got his material from and I know who he sucked up to on his long road down into the dungeon. I stake my name that you will not hear peep one about me and my status from one Clarence Dewar, art critic, professional art critic for Art Today so these are all free shots.

The particular reason that I am standing here in defense of Ms. Perkins, who truth to tell I only know vaguely through my friendship with Josh Breslin, is that old Clarence has recently taken her to task for incorrectly attributing an artwork (see below) by the modern painter Franz Golder assuming that the delicate beauty and use of light could only have been done some Flemish or Dutch painter from the school of Hals or Van Brick. Maybe a mistake but hardly the end of the world since Golder admired immensely his Dutch and Flemish forebears. Dewar’s assertion that Ms. Perkins should take up crocheting rather than get jostled by the travails of art identification is belied by his own “mistake” which believe it or not caused a raucous in the art world back in the late 1960s when he was under the thumb of Clement Greenberg.

Dear Clarence He had gone on and on about some Dutch painter, frankly I forget who and how he has captured nature to perfection in his floral arrangement. The truth: it was impossible for the artist, yes, someone from the school of Van Brick now that I think about it, to have done the painting from nature since the flowers used blossomed at different times of the year. I know this will do no good, but Clarence back off or I will spill many more beans.