Lynne Tillman on Art Criticism, Madame Realism, and Her New Collection 'Paying Attention'

Writer Lynne Tillman discusses her approach to art criticism in a conversation inaugurating CULTURED's Critics' Table series, held at Coco's at Colette. Celebrating the publication of 'Paying Attention: Essays on Art and Culture' from David Zwirner Books, Tillman reflects on her origin story as a critic, beginning with a 1985 call from Craig Owens at Art in America. She describes creating the character Madame Realism as a feminist counter to Surrealism, and recounts her visit to Méret Oppenheim's Paris studio in 1973. Tillman explains her reluctance to write negative reviews, preferring to focus on works with ideas that engage her. She reads from her essay on Diane Arbus, first published in Frieze in 2011. The conversation touches on the state of criticism, the impossibility of neutral writing, and her method of describing paintings like Dana Schutz's 'Boatman' to generate interpretation. Tillman credits her fiction-writing background for her experimental, non-judgmental criticism, influenced by Craig Owens's concept of writing alongside art as a parallel activity.