Cubism, kant, and ideology

One of the most difficult problems in the methodology of art history, is the question of deciding whether or not an established tradition of interpretation (or set of interpretative concepts) actually obscures a proper understanding of the works it is purporting to explain or describe. This problem of hermeneutical distortion looms especially large in relation to twentieth-century art, where the meanings of artists’ work and statements are often mediated to the observer as much by reference to the writings of critics, as by reference to the works themselves. The question then, of course, is how to decide when a critical term or tradition is authentic, and when it is a self-indulgent rhapsody on a theme loosely provided by the artist.