Because everything is open to interpretation, it's safe to speculate with impunity. There is brightness in the air, a giddiness rarely felt at past exhibitions mounted under the International's banner. The didacticism of previous exhibitions hasn't been completely eliminated.
Dull pieces are inevitable in any wide-ranging survey.
But on balance, the 53rd Carnegie International has a lightness of tone that keeps sterile intellectualism at bay long enough for us common folks to enjoy ourselves. But even more refreshing than a Carnegie International that lived up to its advance hype was the sophistication of the marauding horde of museum members that turned out for the preview weekend. Perhaps the cultural set was feeling cocky after electing Jim Roddey our first county executive earlier in the week. Besides, it's only black pop culture icons who get the, um, clump treatment this time. Sometimes it takes an art show to fill me with a semblance of civic pride.