I don’t like the term ‘academy’. It either means the nineteenth-century millstone or invites comparisons with the ‘Impressionist’s academy’, Cubists, etc. – a historicizing view of the day, and a stagnating idea. The look of conventional bad paintings has changed. Many resemble the more traditional of advanced New York paintings. This has created a reaction against their ideas in general, but the reaction can’t possibly make a good picture bad. This paradoxical compliment of flattering imitation forces style to change. The general look shifts; artists make art in whatever aspect they choose, and the rest go on forever. If in the muddled mess of New York painting I can get excitement, kicks and inspiration, everything else is beside the point.