As of 1986, Belting had not encountered a contemporary image worth his consideration. Belting advances, perhaps at a snail's pace, yet he is ensuring that all of his proposed avenues of research can be empirically measured. He disdains the provisional in all disciplines, not just in contemporary art-writing. This final frontier of the spiritual and emotional in art is a definite sore spot in Postmodern art and art-writing. In order to make his discussion more palatable, the definition of spirituality could be expanded to include the philosophies of Emerson, Thoreau, and other philosophers in addition to mainstream organized religious groups.
Spiritual health is flexible, changing constantly, and manifests itself in behaviors and attitudes.
This broad view seems to coincide with Belting's belief that contempporary art is constantly changing and enigmatic. We should also be skeptical, as Belting is, of an all-inclusive definition of art that could promote a linear history. Belting is currently teaching at the School for New Media at Karlsruhe, Germany, and writing his history of modern art that may replace Likeness and Presence as his magnum opus. Belting has written a few essays on contemporary art within the past three years which have not been translated into English. Since we are now only four years away from the second millenium anno Domini, we should expect this approach to contemporary art from a sober medievalist.