Art has shifted from representation to an emphasis on presentation, where an immediate felt connection with the artist’s genius/pain is expected.
This unmediated, instantaneous transmission thwarts the opportunity for thoughtful contemplation, insinuating emotive transference as the principal (and perhaps the only morally right) way to engage in art.
Demanding cautious consideration is labeled elitist; instead, the premise is that art should be blatant, obvious, abundant, heartwarming, brilliant, and presumptively democratic. It should require no thought or pause, only submission to the prescribed experience.
In response, art criticism should now only transcribe the emotive range or comment on the lack of openness. All limitations, though, are forgivable given the biographical specificity confronted with the impossibility of knowing another’s experience.