Julia Friedman

Julia Friedman is a Russian-born art historian and critic living in California. Her writing can be found at www.juliafriedman.org

Attempting to foretell the next art world trend is a thankless task. I was recently reminded of this as I watched a 1986 appearance by Suzi Gablik on Richard Love’s American Art Forum TV show where she predicted that “militarism, consumerism, and class divisions” characteristic of then-regnant postmodernism would soon be countered by the emerging Aquarian vision of a “more holistic paradigm.” Gablik’s prediction was inspired by Marylin Ferguson’s bestseller The Aquarian Conspiracy, which promoted a hippiesque, interdisciplinary alliance to bring about profound and lasting social change.

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