Culture wars have become a part of thoughtful discourse today, unlike the bloody battlefields that characterized the 1970s in America, when this form of argument first arose. At that time, artists and academics were re-defining the production and meaning of art on parallel with the redefinition of identity in terms of race, ethnicity and gender. Ethnic groups shaped separate combat zones that promoted the idea that only “insiders” could represent their owned cultures. Globalism was launched with the advent cheap airline tickets. And having your art banned from federally funded venues became a badge of honor. Above:  Raghubir Singh, Calcutta © Succession Raghubir Singh

Today there’s a broader kind of participation in narrative art, whether in the plastic arts, in photography, film, video or performance. With Instagram enabling anyone with an interest in anywhere to make that place—and its people—a launchpad for any art practice, it becomes ever more difficult to define what is art and what is reportage—or even mere description.

In the latest New York Times Magazine, novelist and photographer Tuju Cole took on the subject of photographing in India by describing the work of Steve McCurry as coming from a “permanent anthropological past.” He seems to dislike the fact that McCurry’s work is incredibly popular, and in his view, quaint. He prefers (as I do, but for different reasons) the work of Indian photographer Raghubir Singh, which to his eye “are freer of the censorship of the market,” and therefore, art, not media.

While I agree with Cole that these are real distinctions, his argument is baited. And as photographer Geoffrey Billet wrote in his response to Cole’s article, on Facebook, “a cheap hit”—using quite obvious targets to make his points, including Edward Said's "Orientalism," which today is a nearly extinct launchpad for meaningful conversations on this subject. Left: © Phyllis Galembo, cover art from Maske, courtesy the artist 

Here are some ideas for exploring the subject through exhibitions currently on view.

At the Rubin Museum of Art, Steve McCurry: India ends on April 4. 150 West 17^th Street, NY, NY. Info

At SepiaEye, Dress-Up | Qiana Mestrich, Phyllis Galembo, and Charan Singh opens with a reception for the artists tonight, Thursday, March 31, from 6 to 8 pm. 547 West 27^th Street, NY, NY. Info

At the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Picture This: Contemporary Photography and India | works by Gauri Gill, Sunil Gupta, Max Pinckers, and Pamela Singh, ends on Sunday, April 3.

Atul Bhalla | Adrift (On Dvaipayana), runs from March 31st through April 14th at the Harvard Art Museums. Info. Ball is also represented in Fotofest 2016 Biennial with works included in  Changing Circumstances: Looking at the Future of the Planet. Info