Man, what a rough weekend on the obituary page. The first death came Friday, with Arthur Danto, philosopher, critic, and aesthetician extraordinaire who passed away at the age of 89. Danto’s declaration of the “end of art history” has been the touchstone of all of the obituaries, but his clear and methodical approach to thinking through the ontological implications of the nature art in the contemporary world was more expansive than that ready-made talking point. Here is a lecture Danto gave in 2006 to kick-off the School of Visual Art’s fantastic series:
Then, what to say about Lou Reed, a musician who holds a singular spot in the history of music. To weigh his influence on music is futile; he belongs to a rock pantheon inscribed with names like Lennon and Guthrie. Here’s the only appropriate video for the occasion, from Wim Wenders Faraway So Close, an angel looking down at the unredeemed redeemer:
Image at top: Reed from Warhol’s screen tests.
