The debate: The art world has long favoured bonds between artists and critics

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/art/2007/01/post_14.html

The debate: The art world has long favoured bonds between artists and critics, but such friendships make it hard to stay honest.
Guardian, January 16, 2007

This blog is about a year and a half old but it could just run and run.

Is it OK to write about your friends? What if the reason you got to be friends with them is that you are excited by their work and  you want to be part of it? Can artists be honest with each other? Do critics have to be ‘pure’ Olympian creatures?

Or – given that most crtiical texts seem to be just about promoting some artists over others, why be left out in the cold? If you’re a writer, write about those artists you value and want to see get on, and if you’re an artist, find critics sympathetic to you and cajole them to write about you…