Roy Harris Declares Art Dead Since Dada in New Pamphlet Critiquing Artspeak

In his 2010 pamphlet 'The Great Debate About Art,' linguist Roy Harris contends that meaningful discussions surrounding art ceased with the advent of Dada. Released by Prickly Paradigm Press, this work addresses James Elkins's assertion of a crisis in art criticism. Harris argues that genuine critical evaluation disappeared during the 20th century, pinpointing 'art-for-art's-sake' as the core of contemporary artspeak. He critiques the Turner Prize and Nicholas Serota's 2000 defense of Michael Craig-Martin's 'An Oak Tree.' Furthermore, Harris examines three rationales for art: institutionalist, idiocentric, and conceptualist. He foresees a shift from artspeak to 'mediaspeak' as art evolves into mass entertainment. The 130-page pamphlet challenges Elkins's aspirations for ambitious criticism while recognizing the continued relevance of painting and sculpture.