Apology for a List

In conversation with my wife, I was asked to create a list of "the ten most influential artists." I won't recount the details of the conversation here, but my list was as follows:

Michelangelo, DaVinci, Vermeer, Picasso, Duchamp, Manet, Cassatt, Brancusi, Dali, and Albers.

In further conversations via Amber's blog, I've been asked to defend my choices. I offer that defense here.

re:Chandler's comment.

I chose Manet for his treatment of the figure (see the resurgence of same in the early 80's) and Cassatt for her proto-feminist influence. The latter may be an appropriation by the likes of Lucy Lippard and Miriam Schapiro, but the influence is still relevant whether or not it was an intention of Cassatt herself. As art objects, I’m not particularly fond of the images produced by either. I have a particular distaste for Manet; that doesn’t influence, however, my estimation of the importance of the art or the artist.

As for the lack of non-europeans, Yoko Ono (meaning her work with Fluxus), Zhang Huan, and Do-Ho Su were on various versions of my list. I’m not sure that time has passed enough yet to know what their ultimate influence will be. Diego Rivera was also on the list at one point, but I took him off in favor of Cassatt. Probably unfair to have two Impressionists on the list, but I have already explained my reasons.

I suppose in retrospect, the inclusion of Katsushika Hokusai in place of Michelangelo might have been appropriate, but the conversation to that point had been confined to creators of art objects in the western European tradition (hence my list also did not include the likes of Aristotle, Kant, Hegel, or Saussure, each of whom is easily as important to the current state of Art as anyone on my list).