When art is described this way, you know it will not be beautiful.

Here are some descriptions from a very successful and influential non-profit arts organization in New York City:

the most important, ground-breaking, challenging and exceptional art of our times

Above all, we privilege artists' ideas.

take bold new risks that value process, content and possibilities.

pushing artists beyond their comfort levels, just as they push us beyond ours.

In the process, artists engage in a dynamic conversation between site, audience, and context, offering up new ideas about who an artist is and what art can be, pushing culture into fresh new directions.

In my humble opinion, these are the cliches of the 20th century. Thirty-five years ago, Tom Wolfe was already calling them dated and faddish (see The Painted Word). They appeal to the intellect rather than the senses. The soul, on the other hand, craves beauty. It connects us to something bigger than ourselves.