The Delay of Contemporary Art in Times of Crisis

Christian Caliandro argues that contemporary art is lagging behind the present, unable to respond effectively to the current crises of pandemic and racial protests. He notes that while the lockdown accelerated changes and protests against racism spread globally, the art world remained largely silent. Institutions like the New Museum, Guggenheim, and MOCA were absent from the discourse, and in Italy the situation is worse, with no real self-critique or push for change. The Italian government's recovery plan reduces art and culture to museum management, ignoring experimentation, research, and education. Caliandro cites the toppling of statues (Edward Colston in Bristol, Henry Dundas in Edinburgh, Cecil Rhodes in Oxford, Robert Milligan and Winston Churchill in London, King Leopold II in Antwerp, Christopher Columbus in Minneapolis and Richmond, Indro Montanelli in Milan) and the removal of 'Gone with the Wind' from HBO as signs of change, but also of misinterpretation. He quotes Gerhard Richter on art producing a different image, and references Johanne Affricot's critique of US institutions' hypocrisy, including Chaédria LaBouvier's denunciation of the Guggenheim. The article is part of a series on the post-lockdown phase.