How to Look at Modern Art (detail) 1946

Ad Reinhardt made this cartoon titled 'How to Look at Modern Art' sometime in the mid-20th century. Through this image, Reinhardt offers a social critique of the art world. The cartoon depicts two scenarios. In the first, a smartly dressed visitor mocks an abstract artwork, asking what it represents. In the second, the artwork bites back, demanding what the visitor represents. This simple joke questions the power dynamics within the art institution. It challenges the presumed authority of the viewer and suggests that art itself can be an active agent. Reinhardt's cartoon invites us to question the social conditions that shape artistic production and reception. To understand this work better, one might research the rise of abstract expressionism in post-war America, the role of critics and museums in shaping taste, and the anxieties surrounding modern art's perceived lack of accessibility. What seems like a simple gag reveals much about the politics of imagery and the public role of art.