But a couple of details might warrant the closer kind of attention that publications devoted to art criticism might usefully provide. One answer was provided by John McWhorter, an associate professor at Columbia, to whose recent article Aruna D’Souza drew attention. What entitles McWhorter to decide what is the “right” kind of sound for his students to hear? If the listener is only prepared to hear what they want to hear, then Cage’s work loses its power to change their perception of the world. The first challenge facing the critic is to divest themselves of prejudices so that the work might act upon them.

Source: New York Times May 02, 2024 16:41 UTC