Painting in an Era of Critical Theory

1 This paper was written while the author was a Visiting Scholar in the School of Education, Stanford University, with the support of a sabbatical leave from California State University, Fresno.

Abstract

What are the values of painting for the contemporary visual arts curriculum? One of the central tenets of critical theory holds that the value of art in conveying subjectivity has been superseded by the newer task of interrogating the nature of representation. In an art world dominated by critical theory and by new forms that speak to that theory, the contribution of painting to society and to education is not as firmly established as it was in the first half of the century. In this paper I review the challenge from critical theory to painting and construct an alternative relationship between the two fields. I attempt to reaffirm the relationship between painting and experience, and to articulate ways in which concepts in critical theory are informed and extended by the practice of painting. A constructive analysis of the relationship between critical theory and painting permits a positive reconception of the role of painting in a contemporary visual arts program.