Tomaso Montanari: Contemporary Artists Are Irrelevant

In an interview with Il Giornale di Brescia, art historian Tomaso Montanari argued that contemporary figurative artists are irrelevant, stating that only gallerists would notice their extinction. He criticized the art market for granting artists maximum freedom but rendering them insignificant. Montanari, a professor of modern art history in Naples, contrasted this with street art, which he praised for its social impact despite anonymous authorship. He cited Italian communities funding street artists to improve peripheries. On politics, he called Italian politicians ignorant and accused them of treating culture as mass entertainment. The interview took place during an event on 'Art and Power.'