Critic Attacks 'Comfortable' Art in Hosptials

Many of the posts on this blog have focused on Evidence-based Art; especially the use of comforting nature images. But Grayson Perry, the Times of London Art Critic, recently wrote an essay criticizing the practice. Perry, who says that art should challenge, not comfort, was interviewed by Madeleine Brand on NPR today.

Click here to listen to the National Public Radio interview. It is 3 minutes long.

The article that triggered the interview is called "Does art have a place in hospitals?" It can be read by Clicking here.

The pink photo in this post is a self-portrait of Grayson. Click to see a larger image. He is not only a respected art critic, but he is also the winner of the prestigious Turner Prize in 2003. He is best known for his works in ceramics and for cross-dressing.

Comments

[Elaine Poggi]

Henry, there is room for all opinions, of course, but I think Perry dismisses too easily all the research that has been done on art in hospitals. Let's let the patients decide what is best and not art critics!

[Henry Domke]

I agree, he dismisses the research and it's likely he never looked at one of the articles. If you read what he wrote in the article I linked to, he said "I believe that art is good really for one thing only and that is giving aesthetic pleasure. Any other positive function is a lucky side-benefit, but don’t depend on it giving measurable results."

The key words here are "measurable results."
Measurable results are exactly what evidence-based art is all about. Granted, there is a lot to learn, but a few key ideas have been found with high quality research.