Finch Finds More Reasons to Hate Bloggers

Oh the wrong doings of the Blogosphere! This week Charlie Finch complains about Village Voice critic Christian Viveros-Faune’s recent dismissal due to a conflict of interest revealed on Modern Art Notes, while taking a few shots at bloggers. I know I should probably write more on this subject, but sometimes it seems pointless to refute the arguments of an obvious idiot, just because he’s published on a site with some traffic. It does however depress me to read endless material about other accepted conflicts of interest, be it those who are held in high regard despite these conflicts, or those whose defense of Viveros-Faune should be discredited for their own misdoings. Neither position reveals the effect conflict of interest has on reporting and reviewing, which is by far the most important aspect of the issue. Tyler Green went to the trouble to spell out the possible consequences of a critic also holding a key leadership position in a for profit art fair venture, and contrary to the suggestion of Charlie Finch, that’s not nitpicking. It is however doing your job.