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As one who has frequently enjoyed (and occasionally purchased) excellent artwork by artists at Alexandria’s Torpedo Factory Art Center, a number of whom have substantial national and international reputations, I was amused and confused by your recent, highly dyspeptic review of the place (Beneath Contempt, 3/14). I can only conclude that your reviewer either a.) suffered severe cerebral damage due to having eaten lead-based paint as a child, b.) is bitter toward an artist/lover who dumped him, or c.) (and I think this is most likely) failed both art and English classes as a student. I would not normally engage in this speculation based on ignorance, but it seemed the only appropriate response to such an article.
A thorough grounding in anatomy is essential for a successful artist and therefore also for a knowledgeable art critic. Unfortunately, your reviewer demonstrated that he cannot reliably distinguish the basic and important anatomical features indicated on the enclosed diagram. Accordingly, before he writes any further art critiques, I respectfully request that you require that he carefully study, memorize, and learn to distinguish the differences between these structures more than 50 percent of the time.
Alexandria, Va.