15 April 2025 (full article)
The current cultural shift away from proven academic standards of aesthetics, science, and truth has resulted in a collective insecurity, and a definitive “qualitative crisis.” It can be frustrating, even unsettling that there is no longer an accepted standard in most disciplines including justice, and current events, and even the evening news. But there is, and it’s simple and uncomplicated, and it’s always been there, and always will be, because it is truth. The truth may get lost in chaos, but its history speaks for itself.
There is a reality that exists in academics, and science, and aesthetics, and culture, and world events. It doesn’t exist as opinion, or based on political, religious, or social bias. The truth wasn’t created, it exists organically, and is well documented through facts. Truth by definition is ‘the property (as of a statement) of being in accord with fact or reality; the body of real things, events, and facts”.
Opinion on the other hand is defined as “a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.” We are experiencing the affects of a culture dominated by opinion rather than truth.
, from uniformed, uneducated ‘influencers’, all the way up to politicians who are our government, and everything in between including podcasters, opinion regarded as news, affecting everything from
REFERENCES
The Marketing Hurricane of ‘Wicked’ Says a Lot About Our Culture, Dec. 14, 2024
Why Culture Has Come to a Standstill
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/10/magazine/stale-culture.html
More than 1,900 scientists write letter in ‘SOS’ over Trump’s attacks on science
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/31/scientists-letter-trump-administration
The current cultural shift away from proven academic standards of aesthetics, science, and truth, has resulted in a collective insecurity, and a definitive “qualitative crisis.” It can be frustrating, even unsettling that there is no longer an accepted standard in any discipline, including science and culture, and even current events, and the evening news. But there IS. There is a truth. There is a reality that exists in academics, and science, and aesthetics, and culture, and world events. It doesn’t exist as opinion, or based on an opinion or political, religious, or social bias. And it wasn’t created, and it is very well documented as reality. Truth by definition is ‘the property (as of a statement) of being in accord with fact or reality; the body of real things, events, and facts”.
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as well as fashion, music, and culture in general. It also means there are ideas and opinions, including in aesthetics that are relevant to segments of the population, that not everyone understands. So can there be trends? High and low? and underbelly? and avant guard? Just as there is no longer popular music, or movies, and now contemporary art. It has all been homogenized into hoodies, sweatpants, Netflix, and decorative art. This could be positive for those trying to do something different, or is it.
Our population is fed algorithms based on their own interests and the interests of their pier group. Brands now need to rely on collabs to get a meaningful traction in the zeitgeist. Barbie collaborated with 160, Wicked with over 400, over 30% of charting music is collaborations. And there are so many charts, and so many news sources that the power of the network news organizations are drowned out by the opinions, and many times uniformed or false.
Paid “personal opinions” by influencers
Best pizza, hamburger, fashion reviews from nobodies
sweetgreens isn 20$
retail shopping, tiktok is bullshit
Streaming services and quality
low museum attendance post pandemic
No bull and on shoes, confit hoodies, sweats
Collabs
The reality of 2025 has slowly come into form - a lack of patience for fellow movie goers, an unwillingness to overpay for restaurant food and drink, the normalization of remote working, remote shopping, remote everything. And of course the ecosystem of capitalism that has evolved to accommodate the market, and vice versa. The pandemic and an abundance of information has resulted in an accelerated cultural shift.
Outline -
Saturation of social media
wall-e
Gallery and art world democratization away from quality and academic standards of quality
decorative art melding with high art, just as in every other discipline; perhaps art is the last
Netflix and streaming dumb down viewers with low quality (soap stars, like Hallmark) productions, music, stories, actors
role of lockdown in altering the artworld landscape
2016 was a turning point following the election and has progressed on a downward spiral
Economics following the lockdown expanded the market which became more mainstream (accessible) to many artists, gallerists, collectors that would not be a part of this community in 2019
Art fair and gallery over-saturation and greed post lockdown
The current cultural shift away from proven academic standards of aesthetics, science, and truth—resulting in collective insecurity, and a definitive “qualitative crisis.”
the late 1960s through the early 1970s. We now find ourselves similarly within a new possibility since 2020 and this post-lockdown, post-pandemic moment.
high end fashion brands are oversaturated by the masses, while high end luxury clothing is struggling
—a scenario that has remained consistent since art took on a more direct consideration as “commodity,” but amplified during the past few years of the lockdown and post-lockdown period and the formation of an algorithmic American market.
We now find ourselves similarly within a new
possibility since 2020 and this post-lockdown, post-pandemic moment.
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to be deleted —-
Project 2025 -
The current cultural shift away from proven academic standards of aesthetics, science, and truth, has resulted in a collective insecurity, and a definitive “qualitative crisis.” It can be frustrating, even unsettling that there is no longer an accepted standard in any discipline, including science and culture, and even current events, and the evening news. But there IS. There is truth. There is a reality that exists in academics, and science, and aesthetics, and culture, and world events. It doesn’t exist as opinion, or based on an opinion or political, religious, or social bias. - and it wasn’t created, it is documented. by those with documented expertise and knowledge in everything.
as well as fashion, music, and culture in general. It also means there are ideas and opinions, including in aesthetics that are relevant to segments of the population, that not everyone understands. So can there be trends? High and low? and underbelly? and avant guard? Just as there is no longer popular music, or movies, and now contemporary art. It has all been homogenized into hoodies, sweatpants, Netflix, and decorative art. This could be positive for those trying to do something different, or is it.
Our population is fed algorithms based on their own interests and the interests of their pier group. Brands now need to rely on collabs to get a meaningful traction in the zeitgeist. Barbie collaborated with 160, Wicked with over 400, over 30% of charting music is collaborations. And there are so many charts, and so many news sources that the power of the network news organizations are drowned out by the opinions, and many times uniformed or false.
Paid “personal opinions” by influencers
Best pizza, hamburger, fashion reviews from nobodies
sweetgreens isn 20$
retail shopping, tiktok is bullshit
Streaming services and quality
low museum attendance post pandemic
No bull and on shoes, confit hoodies, sweats
Collabs
The reality of 2025 has slowly come into form - a lack of patience for fellow movie goers, an unwillingness to overpay for restaurant food and drink, the normalization of remote working, remote shopping, remote everything. And of course the ecosystem of capitalism that has evolved to accommodate the market, and vice versa. The pandemic and an abundance of information has resulted in an accelerated cultural shift.
Outline -
Saturation of social media
wall-e
Gallery and artworld democratization away from quality and academic standards of quality
decorative art melding with high art, just as in every other discipline; perhaps art is the last
Netflix and streaming dumb down viewers with low quality (soap stars, like Hallmark) productions, music, stories, actors
role of lockdown in altering the artworld landscape
2016 was a turning point following the election and has progressed on a downward spiral
Economics following the lockdown expanded the market which became more mainstream (accessible) to many artists, gallerists, collectors that would not be a part of this community in 2019
Art fair and gallery oversaturation and greed post lockdown
The current cultural shift away from proven academic standards of aesthetics, science, and truth—resulting in collective insecurity, and a definitive “qualitative crisis.”
the late 1960s through the early 1970s. We now find ourselves similarly within a new possibility since 2020 and this post-lockdown, post-pandemic moment.
high end fashion brands are oversaturated by the masses, while high end luxury clothing is struggling
The role of the gallery within culture is at once aesthetic, economic, and mystical; as it is tasked with preservation, collection, and refuge. M 2 3 functions as a reaction to, and reflection of, the current trends in dominant culture, as well as an intellectual awareness, and economy of artistic achievement. The gallery’s exhibitions form a resistance to presiding currents through its interest in linking the way work feels within an artist’s studio—an artist’s sense of gesture and investigation that galleries often try to simplify and reduce as it enters into the gallery space. This philosophy runs counter to the predominance of decorative works that have at times stifled the conversation within contemporary art. The work widely exhibited in galleries has been canonized as the “art of our time”—but does not reflect what is being produced in studio—a scenario that has remained consistent since art took on a more direct consideration as “commodity,” but amplified during the past few years of the lockdown and post-lockdown period and the formation of an algorithmic American market.
While the lockdown produced a heightened awareness to social justice issues and diversity as a result of the murder of George Floyd, a disconnect developed between what galleries were presenting online—and the remarkable output elevated by a renewed sensitivity as a result of this and related events. The artworks presented were those that would be most palatable (and salable) through online platforms, which came to be the American aesthetic when we returned to the IRL gallery experience. This superficial, banal aesthetic was in part influenced by online culture and the temporary rise of the NFT, along with other digital media which in turn elevated the influence of artists, galleries, and collectors whose relevance would have been unconscionable just three years ago.
As a gallery, M 2 3 has chosen to focus on artists, exhibitions, and works that speak to art as philosophy, rather than commodity, and theory over hype—preferring a model that is closer to an American Kunsthalle, with exhibitions that reflect contemporary culture, and advance the conversation through channels of decentralized action and cooperation. The gallery privileges the ideals of a new generation of diverse artists that reflect contemporary artistic procedure, and explore the lineage of their practices as it relates to art history—while gesturing toward the commercial currency of critical thinking. With extended shows, the gallery has become a space not only for exhibition, but for artistic debate, aesthetic and cultural research, and knowledge production
We now find ourselves similarly within a new
possibility since 2020 and this post-lockdown, post-pandemic moment.