Art in America revives Michael Fried's 1967 attack on 'theatrical' art

Art in America published an essay on 14 August 2026 arguing that Michael Fried's 1967 polemic against minimalist art as 'theatrical' — 'the negation of art' — matters more amid today's immersive, social-media-friendly installations. Fried, who taught at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, called art that depends on the viewer's physical presence 'literalist.' The essay draws on Bloomsbury's newly collected volume of his writings.