SIR: The recent case of an artist stealing corpses to create sculptures raises serious questions about the value and purpose of modern art. Ever since the turn of the 20th century certain movements in art have achieved notoriety by use of the desire to shock. Cubism, dadaism, surrealism, conceptional art and action painting have fraudulently been passed off by trendy art critics as viable subjective expressions. These critics have heaped praise on manifestations that were little more than scribble. Such nihilistic expressions of deranged subjectivity, however, add nothing of worth to our society and deserve only our contempt.

Any aesthetic form requires structure. Take for example any sculpture or beautiful work of architecture. The most pleasing to the eye are those that are composed with balance and order. The same applies to all forms of beauty from the human face, to a flower or canvas painting. Form, structure and order are prerequisites for aestheticism. Modern art is a fraud, precisely because it makes no attempt creatively to make use of form and structure. Modern art is degenerate and subverts our nations cultural heritage. All works that are devoid of form should be removed from our galleries and returned to their talentless creators. Modern art, so-called, is pseudo intellectual trash and has no basis for acceptance. It is an affront to decency and human culture.

Anthony Makara

Broadwalk, Westhoughton

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.