Anne Ozorio:

>All along, what we are really dealing with is the expression of human
>experience and emotion in art, and that concepts are eternal however
>they may vary in detail from time to time.  To look upon great art and
>see only minutiae is fine, but it's not the only way to go.  The saddest
>thing about this debate is the digging of theoretical trenches rather
>than considering the wider cultural horizons.  Art addresses human issues.
>Whether we think this matters or not, why should we deny to others what
>we might not personally appreciate?

Are the concepts really eternal?  really that independent  of time and
place?  That is a statement of faith, really- not at all obvious. If the
devil and the delight are in the detail, then the manner in which a work
of art is ripped from its milieu by a terminally unimaginative director
is a matter of great concern.  It may not be all that appropriate to
project- say- "Othello" onto the Nicaraguan Civil War of twenty years
ago.

Of course art addresses human issues- that is hardly part of the discussion.
I don't want to deny to others what I might personally appreciate, and
I trust that others will reciprocate.

Bernard Chasan