Iconoclasm and the Demise of Aesthetics

Abstract

Noting that the contemporary Indian art scene has lost sight of beauty, artist Anjolie Menon considers some of the influences that have led to this situation. She emphasizes the role that Western art critics and the market have played in overthrowing the traditional requirement that art exhibit aesthetic value (in the sense of “sensuously pleasing” and “beautiful”) and in opening the range of what is considered permissible. She suggests that the Indian contemporary art scene is out of phase with its Western counterpart, and points out that young Indian artists have only recently entered what might be described as an “end of art moment,” when it becomes obvious that the old values no longer apply. The result has been the burgeoning of anti-art and anti-aesthetic art, but Menon predicts that this will just be a phase. The art market is showing signs of being tired of anti-art, and Menon thinks that people will inevitably be drawn back to art that satisfies their thirst for beauty.