Art Critic Jonathan T.D. Neil Challenges Blake Gopnik's Defense of Forgeries in 2014 ArtReview Essay
In a January & February 2014 ArtReview essay, critic Jonathan T.D. Neil critiques Blake Gopnik's November 2013 New York Times op-ed 'In Praise of Art Forgeries.' Gopnik, a former Newsweek writer working on an Andy Warhol biography, argued that forgeries possess artistic merit when judged aesthetically rather than economically. He proposed viewing fakes as works original artists might have created, emphasizing ideas over attribution. Neil challenges what he calls the 'separatist thesis'—the division between aesthetic and market value—tracing this concept to Immanuel Kant's philosophy of autonomous aesthetic experience. Neil contends that authentic knowledge, including historical context and authorship, is essential for fully valuing art, comparing the revelation of forgery to discovering marital infidelity. He argues that comprehensive assessment must integrate aesthetics, economics, history, politics, and ethics, rejecting separatism as diminishing art's true value.
Key facts
- Blake Gopnik wrote 'In Praise of Art Forgeries' in The New York Times in November 2013
- Gopnik is a former Newsweek writer working on an Andy Warhol biography
- Jonathan T.D. Neil published a critical response in ArtReview's January & February 2014 issue
- Gopnik distinguishes between economic crime and artistic/aesthetic value in forgeries
- Neil identifies a 'separatist thesis' dividing aesthetic and market value
- The philosophical debate references Immanuel Kant's concepts of beauty and the sublime
- Neil argues authentic knowledge including authorship is essential for art valuation
- The article compares discovering forgery to learning of marital infidelity
Entities
Artists
- Blake Gopnik
- Andy Warhol
- Jonathan T.D. Neil
- Immanuel Kant
Institutions
- ArtReview
- The New York Times
- Newsweek