>How can you deny the "academy" its importance in setting standards of art thought or work while at the same time drawing to its requirements?
I've never denied the importance of setting standards. I've only suggested that there have been (and should be) a variety of them. So Ayn Rand should not be dismissed because she was oblivious to the literary canon of 20th C. academia. In my own drawing, a few years ago I realized that I've been attempting to meet the standards set by Bronzino and Pontormo in the Academia Del Disegno in 16th C. Tuscany, which differ from the French academies of the 19th C., differs much more from the royal academies of Medieval South Asia, and has almost nothing to do with the contemporary kind of academy with which Saul and William have been involved. Rand was not offering a critique of the standards of contemporary academia, so much as a manifesto declaring her own. So if we dismiss her, it should not because she would not qualify for a PHD in literature, but because we don't like the kind of things she does. And mostly, I don't. Except, that I do plan on reading some Victor Hugo next year - at which time I will revisit this thread. ____________________________________________________________ You have a right to seek justice! Click here to find experienced lawyers across the USA. http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL2231/fc/BLSrjnxaIKldXwMQ5gDrNVHN5eUxSe YdkVtaJrL7GMtLPse70fi8IfWGsAA/
