Wild Painters

Fashion—be it in clothes, in music or even in art history—is a curious thing. Mapping the inevitable ebb and flow of an idea might seem an all too predictable enterprise; yet it grants those so inclined the opportunity to take stock of the apparent fickleness of human nature. An idea’s upward trajectory—from its radical newness to critical acceptance, followed by widespread use and eventual absorption into the popular imagination—is offset by its inevitable descent into obscurity, or worse, ridicule, loathed for its conventionality and blamed for all the sins supposedly committed in its name.

Ultimately, that neon bathing suit, bob cut or abstract expressionist painting becomes so unfashionable that it turns a corner and becomes positively retro. Embraced by tastemakers as tastefully anti-tasteful (and thus once again viable to those who view anything really unhip as potentially hip-in-waiting), it rises once again to cultural significance. (Truth be told...