The article The Cult of Oblivion review
The article The Cult of Oblivion: CIA, Abstract Expressionists, and Kant is authored by Michael Newberry and published in the website ‘The Atlas Society’. Newberry examines evolution of art and expresses his fear of art becoming extinct due to incompetent art teachers, interference by government institutions, and erroneous philosophies. In the article, the author disputes Kant’s theory of the sublime, criticizes all those who collaborated with abstract expressionists, despises postmodern artists and casts doubt on intentions of government organizations in their involvement in determining culture. A close examination of the words and phrases used by the author reveals bias against government interference in the arts, philosophy of the sublime, and art expressions that are free of form and structure.
Facts selected in a supporting the author’s premise, reveal the biases held by the writer. Newberry (2019) uses quotes used by art critics associated with the Guardian, the New Yorker, and Tate to first expose world view of abstract expressionists then disqualify the perception. According to three quotes used, Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko are thought to have a sublime artistic sense. The author follows these quotes by his own submission to the abstract expressionists being drug-addicted escapists who had ‘mental cracks’. He cites that Pollock was a belligerent, Rothko was a known drunk, and both of them committed suicide in separate instances. The author may be said to have biases since these two were not the only abstract expressionists that existed. There are others who by societal and religious standards were men of virtue, but the author does not consider them. The author should have also included abstract expressionists whose lives portrayed positivism. Hence, readers would have the opportunity to consider both positive and negative effects of absolute expressionism on the artists.
Choice of words used in the article is aimed at portraying artists as victims of external forces intent on blocking their progress. The writer uses phrases such as ‘art has been under attack’, ‘undermining of art’ and ‘connections and machinations’ to describe the CIA, abstract expressionists, and Kant’s philosophy (Newberry, 2019). The reader is prompted to consider these outside forces as conspiring to cause the extinction of art. A situation is created in which artists seem to be left at the mercy of vicious opponents. Newberry (2019) terms CIA’s promotion and support of abstract expressionists as ‘clandestine’ connoting illicit secretive association. Art teachers of the period between the 1960s and 1990s are referred to as clueless and vicious moronic perpetrators of psychological warfare against teenage students. Having studied art during this period, Newberry (2019) considers his teachers to have lacked knowledge, skill, and awareness. The article would have had more impact as an informative critique and review of abstract expressionism by leaving out such inflammatory words and phrases.
The tone of the author and quality of description expresses his disdain for Immanuel Kant, an influential philosopher who believed that genius artists were born and not trained. According to Kant, sublime art is not a product of science, perception, or introspection. Newberry is sarcastic of those whose perspectives were influenced by Kant. In his view, Kant ‘infiltrated the inteligencia’ making them believe that abstract expressionists were ‘worthy of veneration’ (Newberry, 2019). The sarcasm reveals that the author does not share a similar view. He considers abstract expressionists as individuals who had ‘amputated their hearts, minds, and senses leaving them in subhuman states’ (Newberry, 2019). The readers’ opinion can be changed by maintaining a neutral analytical tone. In so doing, the reader is left to create a position as supported by facts in the article.