Sophie Howarth, Phyllida Barlow, Paul Wood, Mark Godfrey, Jonathan Jones, Jason Gaiger and Jane Burton, Discussion 2  From Russian Suprematism through Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism and beyond, abstraction has been variously interpreted as nihilistic, political, sublime, decorative and ironic. While much writing about abstract art has been opaque, the talks here aim to clearly open up a variety of theoretical models for discussion.

Jason Gaiger, Barnett Newman and the Evocation of the Sublime  Speaker: Jason Gaiger, Lecturer in Art History at The Open University.In an important essay, 'The Sublime is Now', written in 1948, Barnett Newman rejected the search for beauty in favour of 'man's natural desire for the exalted, for a concern with our relation to the absolute emotions'.

Jason Gaiger, Duchamp, Man Ray, Picabia, Incidental and Integral Beauty: Duchamp, Danto and the Intractable Avant-Garde  It is widely accepted that the radical avant-garde movements of the early twentieth century abjured beauty, thereby effecting a decisive break with the art of the past. Duchamp is accorded a leading role in this process insofar as he rejected the satisfactions of ‘retinal pleasure’ in favour of an art of ideas.