Good Ideas About Bad Writing

I applaud the idea that artists should write more, but how? I have had two pieces published - one in Art in America, one in my local newspaper - but most art magazines don't look at unsolicited manuscripts or don't bother to reply.
A suggestion: A blog posts on tips for aspiring art-writers, not just grammar and style, but how to have a chance at breaking into the market.

I saw Jeff Koons speak yesterday at the Carpenter Center at Harvard and (once I got over the feeling that it was all a goof) I realized how great it was that he absolutely refused to engage in any smarty-pants talk. Every time someone got "arty" he just said something simple. He kept his references to Picasso and, at the most obscure, Courbet if that tells you anything. Now I realize that Koons is a rare duck and that this is important to his "art", but it was a real eye-opener for me. It was Harvard getting a giant bunny in the eye, and it was great. Koons should just write all wall text I guess.

As I read it, the only disagreement between commenters is whether curators have nothing to say, or have something to say but are not able (or willing) to say it.

I think the "problem," if there is one, is a bit different. If the art itself had some clear blatant social/cultural message, it would be far too passe (or naive, wholesome, lame, etc.) to be included in the Biennial in the first place.

The curators often choose art that is self-consciously opaque (or meaningless, depending on your opinion). It follows that writing about the art will be the same.

I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. If art "gets something wrong," it doesn't really matter. This is sculpture, not wikipedia!

The only ones who should be worked up about curator's complex interpretations of "communication structures and systems of exchange" are those readers who care what art curators (or even sculptors) have to say on those subjects.

I think the same dynamic exists in many fields that have sort of reached their limits, and now don't know what they should be doing. Peter Wolf's "Not Even Wrong" addresses this issue in physics. (See http://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/wordpress/)