I o Z yślo y | Interview with Mareike Dittmer, co-publisher (with Jörg Heiser) of frieze d/e, first published in dwutygodnik.com (12-2015) http://www.dwutygodnik.com/artykul/6276-niezalezny-od-czego.html (in Polish) Independent of what? Challenges of art criticism I o Z yślo y: frieze is perceived internationally as one of the most prominent art magazines. What do you think is the reason of its popularity and significance? Mareike Dittmer: I think frieze has gained its reputation for its strong editorial voice, clear writing and insightful opinion and the way it sees contemporary art in the wider cultural sphere including music, literature, film, architecture and design. Another decisive factor here is contemporary, clearly setting the magazine in the here and now and setting its own agenda. The challenge in our everyday practice is to keep this notion of the contemporary in attitude and analysis. Our editors and writers pull out trends and themes and create new connections between new and old, or between art and wider cultural, political or social realities. We are also very proud of the design of the magazine, which accurately reflects frieze’s high-quality content and innovative approach. What does it mean to be a publisher of frieze d/e magazine? With my co-pu lisher Jörg Heiser, e de eloped the concept for the magazine, what needs writing about and by whom what is the gap we are trying to fill with this publication. We collaborate with the editors, talk about artists, themes, theories. Jörg is ad isi g o editorial and also writing himself in our pages. Yet self, I do ot o issio or edit si e I responsible for the financial side of the business which involves advertising and thus it is crucial for the actual editorial content to be autonomous. The content remains the responsibility of the editors. We also discuss with the designers, about the look of frieze d/e, ho e deal ith the t o la guages, hat s the pi ture la guage, et . A d last ut ot least I m in conversation with clients – gallerists, museum directors and curators, communication experts and agencies. And I also look after new ideas for distribution and marketing s he es, so ou see, it s a 6 ° e perie e. Would you please clarify the relation between the international version of frieze and the one you are publishing in Germany? frieze d/e is focused on the German-speaking territories and it is fully bilingual. As a sister magazine of frieze it has completely different content provided by its own editorial team in Berlin; we do not translate anything from the international version, nor the other way round. However the agazi es share Frieze pu lishi g s o it e t to insightful opinion and unbiased criticism and there is ongoing collaboration between the editorial teams in Berlin, London and New York. Jörg is co-editor of frieze and also co-publisher of frieze d/e, and Christy Lange working as associate editor of frieze is also a contributing editor of frieze d/e. I am also the publishing consultant for frieze. What was the reason for launching another magazine in Berlin? Page 1 of 11 I o Z yślo y | Interview with Mareike Dittmer, co-publisher (with Jörg Heiser) of frieze d/e, first published in dwutygodnik.com (12-2015) http://www.dwutygodnik.com/artykul/6276-niezalezny-od-czego.html (in Polish) One reason was a desire – or even a need – to cover German-speaki g Europe s multifaceted landscape of cultural institutions and galleries. Another reason was the editorial voice of frieze and that we felt this was dearly missing in the German-language art magazine landscape. Ever since we established frieze’s Berlin office in 2001, we wanted to introduce frieze s isio into the German language. And who are your readers? What do you know about them? Our readers tend to be art professionals or those interested and invested in the art world. Our main readership and distribution is obviously in the German-speaking territories but we are spreading out more and more to the neighbouring countries with distribution in the Benelux for instance as well having a significant readership in the UK and US. And it is also not rare that I meet people from Hong Kong, Dubai or Sydney who have not only heard of the magazine but actually read it. Are these mostly curators and gallerist or rather collectors? Curators, gallerists and collectors are the major groups our readership consists of. In addition there are also artists, theorists and writers as well as art professionals from other creative industries, be it design, architecture, music or fashion. And of course art students. Do I understand that you are not ambitious to bring frieze to a broader, non-artprofessional public? We always welcome new audiences, and many of our features explore music, architecture and other cultural forms as well as contemporary art. We like clear, jargon-free writing that is accessible to all but we do assume some background knowledge and special interest. Apart from the magazine there is a website and in 2012 you also started running a blog. What is relation between these platforms and the paper version? The main purpose of the website has been as an archive of the magazine, which makes all content available for free. In this way the site is a great research tool and has been key in the success of establishing frieze d/e as a primary source of information about artists and exhibitions. At the same time, we are always thinking of new ways to engage audiences, and this includes rethinking the role of the website and its relation not only to the print magazine but more importantly to social media. Earlier this year, we started to publish the exhibition reviews online first, before printing them in the magazine, making the content more timely and accessible than ever. How do you perceive the trend in current media to give up the paper and publish on the web? And what is the reason for printing the magazine on the paper anyway? First of all: We love print. We are immensely proud of the design and production quality of both frieze and frieze d/e, where each issue can be enjoyed as an art object in itself. Page 2 of 11 I o Z yślo y | Interview with Mareike Dittmer, co-publisher (with Jörg Heiser) of frieze d/e, first published in dwutygodnik.com (12-2015) http://www.dwutygodnik.com/artykul/6276-niezalezny-od-czego.html (in Polish) However this aesthetic and our commitment to high-concept design and image reproduction values, extends into our digital publishing. Audiences now consume content in so many different ways, and the app as well as our regular blogs, online videos and popular social media channels, all engage with this. Therefore in 2013 we launched paid frieze app that reproduces content from the international magazine and guest articles from frieze d/e, but also our short documentary films, produced by frieze video. frieze magazine was established in 1991, by Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover, who are still owners of the company. On your website we can read however, that after ten years they stepped from editorial decisions and started to organize the Frieze Art Fair. Launched for the first time in London in 2003 pretty soon became one of the most prominent in the art world. Frieze will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2016, with our founders Matthew and Amanda remaining as joint-CEOs, involved in all crucial decisions across the business; but the events business is now directed by Victoria Siddall and the publishing business by Anna Starling. But how does it look like in practice? Do ’t you thi k there is a potential conflict of interests? I ask you, since this is an interesting case study form our Polish perspective. As the role of private sector by us grows bigger and bigger, we need to ask ourselves those questions – what is the relation between art criticism and the market? Can one run a gallery and publish art magazine at the same time? The publishing and the events businesses are separate companies with some shared resources admittedly such as the accounts and marketing teams, but otherwise different teams. The integrity of the editorial is a one of our founding values and we are clearly aware of the danger even the slightest notion of conflict of interest would have for our professional reputation. If I had a gallery and received a stand in your fair, would it be more likely for me to gain your attendance and be reviewed in your magazines? You could buy an advertisement, but nothing else. Really? There are many galleries covered in the magazine who do not feature in the fair; or galleries who advertised in the magazine, but have not been reviewed. There is no quid pro quo for coverage either way, as this would undermine the very premise of the publication as the definitive voice for insightful opinion and unbiased criticism. Editorial decisions need to be independent of advertising as well as any commitment a gallery might have to Frieze Events. You also evaluate the content of advertisements? We do. Page 3 of 11 I o Z yślo y | Interview with Mareike Dittmer, co-publisher (with Jörg Heiser) of frieze d/e, first published in dwutygodnik.com (12-2015) http://www.dwutygodnik.com/artykul/6276-niezalezny-od-czego.html (in Polish) On what basis? It is the same as in any other printed magazine – we would refuse to publish anything that would offend the law or hurt so eo e s feelings. There is more fuss about the running order of adverts – what is placed on the first pages, what is in the back. What do you ea y the fuss ? It is a many-folded system with people paying premium for certain positions but otherwise also certain positions being contracted to chosen galleries – thus for instance the running order of ads in the front section, i.e. placed next to editorial, is relatively fixed. Most positions there are contracted to galleries appearing there in each issue. Would ’t you refuse to publish the ad if it was announcing some very poor exhibition? No, the advertising section is paid-for information, not a judgemental selection. Apart of German-speaking countries frieze d/e is also covering events from countries of central Europe. We are starting to do this more and more, in response to dynamic cultural activities in neighbouring countries like Benelux or Poland, but still with the perspective of – and the focus on – the German-speaking countries. And this is why we are meeting, by the opportunity of your visit on Warsaw Gallery Weekend. Yet you’ e ee here already also by the last? That s right, it s second time. Can you feel any difference? This year the organizers seem to become very conscious about bringing foreign art professionals here. There are groups of curators, critics and also collectors here from Tate, the Institute of Contemporary Art and Delfina Foundation. Some of them were invited by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, others by the Polish Institute from London. So you think it’s getti g i ter atio al? It feels like it. Last year it felt mainly Polish. Now when I told people I am going to Warsaw it as like: Oh, I goi g too! A d the a , a e ake a tour together? WGW was modelled after experiences of Gallery Weekend Berlin organized since 2004 at the beginning of May. Is there a sense to compare both these initiatives in any way? The Berlin event is huge – over 50 galleries take part in it, which makes it really o er hel i g. Tr to see all of the i three da s… e e as a professio al ou ust su it Page 4 of 11 I o Z yślo y | Interview with Mareike Dittmer, co-publisher (with Jörg Heiser) of frieze d/e, first published in dwutygodnik.com (12-2015) http://www.dwutygodnik.com/artykul/6276-niezalezny-od-czego.html (in Polish) and select. I love the gallery weekend here, because is much more manageable. You can go to the galleries and really see the art, meet the artist, talk to everyone. Organizers of Gallery Weekend claim to gather almost 20 000 visitors from all over the world, which makes the audience five time bigger than in Warsaw. Yet just couple days ago you had in Berlin also another event – the fourth edition of Art Week. In terms of sheer visitor numbers this one is even bigger – it attracts around 100 000 visitors from Germany and abroad. Basically it joints two major art fairs – art berlin contemporary and Positions Berlin and is kind of the start of the autumn season in Berlin. Also the major institutions in Berlin are joining the effort with collaborative exhibitions and openings. They arrange openings, discussions, screenings or performances. But still I would say this week feels less international and influential then the Gallery Weekend. Also, one should not forget that initially the Berlin Gallery Weekend was invented precisely to do the opposite then creating a major series of events outsides the galleries – it was invented to get people coming back into the actual gallery space. Its goal was to recover direct contact with the audience. And this is still the main principle and the success story behind it. What is the engagement of public institutions during the Berlin events? What kind of role do they play? Duri g the Galler Weeke d this does t pla that u h of a role, for instance the last Berlin Biennale which usually opened at the same time intentionally changed their opening dates. But this also has to do with the aforementioned overwhelming choice that is on offer in the galleries alone, while during the Art Week the majority of the galleries are collated in the fairs. Thus the institutions are major players, and they try to open their best shows at this time, to create events, to bring people working together. How is this being perceived? I am asking, since in Warsaw the public institutions like Za hęta, M“N or C“W also parti ipate i the progra e, yet the sole idea of part ership between the public and the private sector in culture is treated with great suspicion. Generally, for the visitor, it is of course adding to the appeal of such a weekend if it offers a broad range of interesting exhibitions in private and public spaces. This said, these kind of partnerships can lead into tainted territory indeed and of course we are also having these discussions. But the very division between the private and the public has been blurred before. For instance in Austria, many galleries have been funded by public money, even taking part in an art fair i.e. a commercial sales presentation, is applicable for being funded by the government. I am not sure if that s still the ase, ut it used to be in the past. As you know galleries in Poland also may receive financing from the state, when they i te d to prese t their artist o the i ter atio al art fairs… I did not know this was the case in Poland, too, but admittedly it does feel a little it eird… Page 5 of 11 I o Z yślo y | Interview with Mareike Dittmer, co-publisher (with Jörg Heiser) of frieze d/e, first published in dwutygodnik.com (12-2015) http://www.dwutygodnik.com/artykul/6276-niezalezny-od-czego.html (in Polish) Yes, but on the other hand at least some of them exert a great cultural impact. In fact they are playing important role that most of the public institution fail to realise – they take care of young artists or those forgotten ones, they promote them abroad, they restore the artworks and secure the archives, they publish books and educate the public. Yet we still have to tackle in our public discourse with the predo i a t li hé, that pri ate se tor in culture is just making money and all other functions are cynical tool for gathering the symbolic value. I think it is also in the role of art critique to deconstruct such li hés. But o the other ha d the vague legal status of some of the galleries immediately strikes someone who arrives to Warsaw from the outside. Some are still officially called foundations, although they are selling artworks on a commercial basis. On the other hand, as you say, they take on activities that go far beyond the commercial aspects, for instance when the Foksal Gallery Foundation keeps Ed ard Krasi ski s studio ope to the pu li . A d evertheless in Berlin there are similar ambiguities. Many young galleries started as open, artist-run projects and move into commercial activities, introducing artists to private collectors but still they refuse to call the sel es galler . You thi k it’s y i al or just self-delusion? I think we need a more precise language for describing the art scene. I do t k o ho it is in Polish, but in German there is a clear distinction between a gallerist and a dealer. The first one is a person who builds a long-term relationship with artists, usually starts working with them very early on, who develops with them and promotes them among collectors and curators not only to sell their work but also to build their (and their own) reputation. Whereas a dealer is someone who facilitates the selling of works by artists without necessarily representing them. Most of the gallerists I know would rather not want to be called dealers and insist exactly on the broader part of responsibility and longevity that comes with this kind of relationship with the artist – a relationship that some would compare to a marriage. But of course it is a business, too and if this part is egle ted it s ot any good for the artist either. So if it is the business part that makes gallerists refrain from calling themselves gallerists they should ask themselves what exactly the role is they want to play and what term would describe this role any better. How do you personally perceive the Polish contemporary art scene? Without any compliments, just please express your professional judgement. First of all my perception of the Polish art was formed by the fact I e ee e posed to it in my life very early, because I grew up in East Germany. So I fa iliar ith classics from the 20th century. Who do you mean? I mean like Kantor, Nowosielski, Hasior or Wró le ski… Page 6 of 11 I o Z yślo y | Interview with Mareike Dittmer, co-publisher (with Jörg Heiser) of frieze d/e, first published in dwutygodnik.com (12-2015) http://www.dwutygodnik.com/artykul/6276-niezalezny-od-czego.html (in Polish) E e Wró le ski? And where did you study? No, it was not at the university! I learned it in my high school! In high school? I do ’t thi k ost Polish stude ts ha e ever heard about him. I was lucky then, I guess. One of my first day jobs was to guide tours at the Martin Gropius Bau in an exhibition about East European art entitled Der ‘iss i ‘au ( A fissure i spa e in 1994/95 that went on to Zacheta Gallery Warsaw in 1995) and where I first saw the actual paintings (instead of reproductions in school books) of Wró le ski. Then in 1997, my final project for my studies at UdK Berlin was a collaborative German-Polish research and exhibition project in Cracow and Berlin, where I met people like Grzegorz Sztwiertnia, Piotr Jaros, Adam Budak or Jarosła “u ha , who were key for introducing me to the contemporary Polish art scene. If you could try to compare the way the Polish galleries work with the artists and the way they talk with you and other curators. Do you find any similarities or differences or it is just already the same level of professionalism as in the German-speaking countries? For the galleries I eeti g at international fairs or that I visit just now in Warsaw, I do t think there is much of a difference. If you visit their exhibitions or ask them: Could you send e so e i for atio a out the artists? ou ill re ei e a tuall a solutel the sa e professional care. For the museums I think there was an immense development over the last couple of years – in the early frieze years I remember having to ask Polish friends if we needed to call a museum for getting a picture credit for instance, it was almost impossible to communicate in English. Nowadays most of the publications and the press releases you receive are bilingual anyways. How do you think – has the Polish art anything specific to offer to Europe and the world? It is more palpable when I look at works from the 20th century. Think of Wró le ski again – the way he deals with trauma is very specific. Maybe there is a predominant Polish background, the histories he s ee part of, and yet still you can trace a connection between him and contemporary painters from say Belgium, like ‘e é Da iëls or Luc Tuymans. And how about younger artists? On the whole one needs to acknowledge that the reference system for young artists everywhere has become truly international; yet there is also a sense of a certain sound, a certain sensitivity, a certain sense of history – ore isi le i so e artists work then it is in others – if not a atio al s hool , e a tl . Then again – there are, for instance, Polish references in the picture language Paulina Olowska is using – but does this really make her work as a praxis, a making of symbolic meaning, necessarily and specifically Polish? Piotr Ukla ski s e ork is ery specifically dealing with historical places and moments in the Page 7 of 11 I o Z yślo y | Interview with Mareike Dittmer, co-publisher (with Jörg Heiser) of frieze d/e, first published in dwutygodnik.com (12-2015) http://www.dwutygodnik.com/artykul/6276-niezalezny-od-czego.html (in Polish) history of Poland – but is this historic setting not too easil i terpreted as Polish hile the intellectual and artistic point of reference might be somewhere else? Maybe my reluctance to identify artists under such a national theme is basically grounded in a general difficulty with the concept of national identity though of course I see that a la el su h as Ger a pai ti g guara tees a ertai i ter atio al i pact and evokes also market values. You mean we still lack of political impact? I think this would explain the underrepresentation of major Polish artists abroad. Or underevaluation. I am really the last person willing to perceive the arts through the lens of market values, yet if you try to compare Polish and Western art scene, this difference is really blatant. How is the Polish contemporary art scene really perceived from abroad? What do you hear that people say? I think there is a lot of curiosity out there – people do have the feeling (and I think they rightly) that there is still quite a bit to discover in Poland. I always discover something when travelling here – my last trip led me to Szumin, just an hour away from Warsaw, to visit Zofia and Oskar Hanse s su er house, a o derful - and potentially the only working - example of his theory of Open Form. It was inspiring and yet much lesser know then comparable buildings elsewhere. Over the last years there is surely on the one hand a growing international recognition of historical positions, like Alina Szapocznikow or Katarzyna Kobro, or A drzej Wró le ski, a d ith this re og itio o es the i terest to see ore, also i the contemporary scene. Which brings me back to the Warsaw Gallery weekend and why I think such an occasion is the perfect moment for a visitor to gain a condensed impression and introduction to the scene; and again why it is important for institutions and non-commercial spaces to work together in creating such a moment – not to blur the borders between public and private, but to collaborate in the effort to show the diversity and widen perspectives and cultural references. For instance, a position like Zofia Rydet at the Museum of Modern Art in relation to the exhibition of Piotr Uklanski, and to widen perspectives and cultural references, not only in art history. Let us focus right now on the art criticism. What is its role and position in contemporary artworld? Art magazines develop a reputation by being independent and making apt choices, not by promoting anyone. This is the task of the art critic – to analyse an artwork incisively, justify your appraisal, and embed it within a context of works of other artists, theoretical references or contemporary events. What does it mean for an art critic to be independent? Independent of what would be the decisive question here? We are all set in certain networks of dependencies and art critics are no exception. If you mean independent of a Page 8 of 11 I o Z yślo y | Interview with Mareike Dittmer, co-publisher (with Jörg Heiser) of frieze d/e, first published in dwutygodnik.com (12-2015) http://www.dwutygodnik.com/artykul/6276-niezalezny-od-czego.html (in Polish) market agenda, it might be easier if you are an employed editor of a magazine and able to set your own themes and subjects then for instance being a freelance writer who needs to be commissioned for articles and catalogue essays. Being an expert places you both in a position of knowledge and responsibility, being human makes you vulnerable to notions of friendship and remuneration. To solve this conflict in the most honourable way is the challenge. Do you believe art criticism still has any significant power or influence? I think it still plays an important role and it becomes especially significant in the long-term perspective. Actually this has something to do with what we have talked at the beginning, about the relation between digital and the print – people s readi g ha its, how they value the written text and what they expect from it. Arguably, high-quality writing about art is more important than ever, as the world of art and criticism has grown so much, exploding traditional models of production and consumption. Yet criticism has evidently lost its erstwhile significance. Sure, if you think about the positon of the market or public institutions within the art world, the position of a critic seems to be the weakest link in the chain. Just in terms of the money – few of these riters I e ee orki g ith for last fifteen years would ever get paid as much as many of the artists they wrote about. Many of them will never get by only by their writing for magazines. We approach here to one of the main reasons of the weakness: critics are paradoxically financially dependent from the institutions, which they are meant to criticize – whether these powerful institutions will let him write a text for a catalogue or invite to participate in a panel discussion, or be member of jury in some art competitions. Pre isel … in German we have a saying: don t ite the ha d that feeds ou . And of course this is a problem for the publishers, too. In frieze we pay our writers fairly but for a freelancer this is often still not enough to make a fair living. For this reason, I really have high respect for any freelance writer I know. I think this is one of the toughest jobs in this field. It seems the only solution of strengthen the position of art criticism would be creating fulltime post in big publishing houses. Which has happened over the years – just looking at frieze I remember when I started with the agazi e i 999 there ere editors i the Lo do offi e a d Jörg had just started as associate editor in Berlin while today we have 9 editors in the London, New York and Berlin offices plus several contributing editors in countries all over the world. But you also want fresh voices and opinions in each issue and specialist knowledge. So no, I think the solution of strengthening the position of art criticism has to be found within the system, and with the insistence of the freelancers on their independence – I do t ea this ai el , ut I do thi k Page 9 of 11 I o Z yślo y | Interview with Mareike Dittmer, co-publisher (with Jörg Heiser) of frieze d/e, first published in dwutygodnik.com (12-2015) http://www.dwutygodnik.com/artykul/6276-niezalezny-od-czego.html (in Polish) in the end of the day this is making their reputation and recognition and we all have to make this pay off. What else would have strengthen the position of critic? In the past the critic was especially esteemed by institutions, public galleries and museums. Nowadays sometimes it feels that at least some PR departments and agencies think they can organise the critical discourse themselves. I have heard museum directors say that if the agazi e o t o er their sho the the rite their o e hi itio re ie a d put it o their website. Well. I think this confusion of PR and critical writing is problematic. And it not only endangers the authority of the text but also the regard the readers and the market are paying to it. So even more important becomes the place where the text is published and the trust the reader attributes to the publication and its independence. Do you share the opinion, that this former, powerful positon of a critic, was nowadays taken by curators? They are the one who make value judgements. At the same time many of them also write the criticism. All these things are in flux these days. The position of the curator surely has become more influential although one could also say that the institutional appreciation has always counted and most of the powerful curators we are talking about are working in institutions. When directors shaped the kudos of an institution by buying certain works and building the collection it often seems today that the curators have stepped up in the hierarchy when at least some of the power of collecting moved from institutional to private hands. Do you think those positons should be separated? I think it is two separate qualities to curate an exhibition and to criticise it. I concede there are gifted i di iduals ho su eed i oth fields. But I afraid this gift is rare. Could you imagine yourself the artworld ruled only by curators and private gallerist, without independent art critics? The critic will always have a function not only within the art world but also in terms of describing and evaluating art for the public. As long as the gallerist and the curator need a public they need to have some sort of publicised debate around this. What is imaginable though is deteriorating standards for this debate and that the level of independence of the critic as discussed before is more and more under pressure. But again, I do think many curators and gallerists accept and actually appreciate the need for an independent voice evaluating their professional subjects so it is actually not a nightmare haunting my dreams. So what makes the role of art critic indispensable? What contributes he into the artworld, that curators, gallerist or the art collectors cannot provide? Page 10 of 11 I o Z yślo y | Interview with Mareike Dittmer, co-publisher (with Jörg Heiser) of frieze d/e, first published in dwutygodnik.com (12-2015) http://www.dwutygodnik.com/artykul/6276-niezalezny-od-czego.html (in Polish) In a short term perspective the critic comes often very early on, as kind of front line offering initial appraisal. It s ofte si ple re og itio of a artist or a certain show, like sa i g: look, this is an important show, this is a promising artist . Alongside the review or focus piece the monograph, interview or think piece often mark a significant moment in an artists career or recognise a movement or a trend, and some of these text might become seminal since it is via this text the understanding and sometimes even the terms of description are set. And how about the criteria that critic engage in his or her choices? Are they all intuitive? The are t i tuitive. I ould t sa so, because this would mean like if it was all a matter of taste, based o si ple oh, like it / do t like it . At least this is how it works on Fa e ook. Do ’t you thi k it affects the way how people think about the valuation of art? That it’s just atter of attractiveness and popularity? In a way this superficial quick judgement is an ancient way of reducing complexity and dealing with the overwhelming stimulations life presents us with every day – Facebook has only driven it to prevalence. Many people including myself make a lot decision rather spontaneously and often based on certain likings. But we should not mistake this for a professional standard of judgement. And admittedly, the fast part of this approach is truly a professional disease, because it affects you when you start seeing a lot of things. The more you see, the faster you develop this kind of gut feeling. It o t guara tee ou re al a s right, but at least it will inform you, whether you came across a good show, that is worth staying a bit longer. But other then the like-it button on Facebook this gut feeling is only the very beginning to engage with a work, the true work of the critic follows after the initial attraction or bewilderment. I think you are talking right now about the intuition of expert, which is something different than subjective taste of dilettante. The kind of knowledge we are gathering throughout our whole professional life comes with experience that forms the background of our awareness and enables us to distinguish what is new and important in our area of expertise. Usually e all it k o -ho or o pete e . In any case in our field, same as in literature or philosophy, it is a lot harder to define any standard, not even to speak about a canon. Not like in physics, where you can sa : if a beam of light has such and such frequency it will be perceived as red . I art e need to discuss and negotiate. Have you ever witnessed such a discussion among art critics? I hardly ever encounter a critic struggling to justify judgements or expound criteria of choices. I do t thi k I e aggerati g he I sa this dis ussio is held eekl i our editorial meetings. It comes up whenever an editor is making an argument for a certain piece of coverage. Page 11 of 11