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The Jefferson Exchange

Developing A Taste For Modern Art

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Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain" at SF MOMA.
Gary Stevens, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39160410

Maybe you were in an art gallery or museum and saw something that caught your eye.  And ultimately, you couldn't quite figure out what you were looking at. 

You're not alone; fine art installations range far beyond pictures on the walls and sculptures on pedestals.  They include a hole dug in the floor of a gallery and a pile of candies in silver wrappers, with art viewers invited to take a candy. 

Art critic Lance Esplund hears the frustration of people who otherwise consider themselves lovers of art.  He provides a guide in his book The Art of Looking: How to Read Modern and Contemporary Art.  The author joins us with the view from the gallery.   

 

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Geoffrey Riley is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and has hosted the Jefferson Exchange on JPR since 2009. He's been a broadcaster in the Rogue Valley for more than 35 years, working in both television and radio.