ART THEORIST

Christopher Knight’s laudatory advance review of Dave Hickey’s “Air Guitar: Essays on Art and Democracy” makes the mistake of agreeing with Hickey’s idea that, in Knight’s words, “art might be currency . . . but it’s not a commodity” (“It’s All in What You See,” Sept. 14).

Art may indeed be more than its status within the market, but currency (that is, money) is a commodity. Money is the universal commodity that makes trafficking in all other commodities possible.

ALLAN SEKULA

Los Angeles

*

Knight’s article revealed his reverence for a high level of critical thinking, for which I hold him in great esteem. It’s refreshing to note that a critic has revealed himself as an enthusiast of another critic. In one gesture, each makes art a worthwhile subject. Enthusiasm is an infectious incentive.

TONY ABATEMARCO

Los Angeles