I stumbled across a wonderful exhibit over the Thanksgiving weekend. I was on my way to the Hirshorn and decided to stop by the National Gallery of Art, East Building. The Meyerhoff Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art is not only an important collection, but the organization of the show is unique: “Rather than being divided by artist, movement, or decade, the works in the exhibition are arranged according to a different logic. Each of the ten categories explores one principal visual theme or material device of 20th-century art, as demonstrated and continuously reconfigured by the artists in the Meyerhoff collection.” The themes are Scrape, Concentricity, Line, Gesture, Art on Art, Drip, Stripe to Zip, Figure or Ground, Monochrome and Picture the Frame. This provided deeper understanding for my young sons allowing me to explain less and look more. I hope to visit again before it ends.

I also appreciate the idea of thematic reference rather than categorical. I would add three more: text, transfer and appropriation. I would like to see high school art contests/exhibitions pursue this route and do away with outdated discipline-oriented categories that have limited relevance to the art making of contemporary artists and art students.