As a writer myself, one who has, on occasion, indulged herself with language others might find tinged an earthy blue, I’m suspicious of those critiques of art that concentrate on a piece’s so-called “shock value,” especially when that description is used as a way to forestall a vigorous and honest examination of the piece’s aesthetic (such as it is). Sure, some contemporary art is little more than attitude with a story to peddle; but much of it is legitimately problematic and interesting — if only for the challenge it poses to established cultural modalities.

Karl Zinsmeister’s “When Art Becomes Inhuman” is an interesting (albeit occasionally exasperating) critique of contemporary art, well worth reading even if you don’t agree with Zinsmeister’s polemics. It appears in the January/February 2002 issue of American Enterprise. The first paragraph gives you some idea of what you’re in for:

Many of today