Dean Kissick's Harper's essay critiques political art's impact on beauty and strangeness

In Harper's magazine, Dean Kissick, a British writer residing in New York, released an essay titled 'The Painted Protest'. In it, he contends that the intersection of art and politics over the past eight years has lessened art's beauty and emotional resonance. Now 41, Kissick sees his work as a continuation of Tom Wolfe's 1975 book 'The Painted Word'. He examines the art scene post-2008, observing that by 2017, social justice movements had increased the visibility of various artists. Although initially thrilled, he later perceived this diversity as monotonous. He criticizes the stagnation in aesthetic progress and urges critics to explore art outside prevailing trends. The essay ends by suggesting that longing for earlier art might signal a desire to become an art historian.