A recent trip to St. Louis to talk to a group of students about the “alternative art movement” — I modestly cast myself as an emblematic figure in the transition from the artist-run nonprofit spaces of the 1970s through the ironically commercial East Village storefront gallery scene of the ‘80s to the all-out commercialism of today’s robust art market — provided a welcome opportunity for a quick survey of the local art scene.
What’s happening in St. Louis? Not a lot — my whirlwind tour was completed in a day and a half without too much trouble, and meter parking was readily available at every stop — which makes the place a welcome contrast to traffic-jammed New York.