Is the Era of Conceptual art coming to a close?

Bargue Plate 3

I believe that movements in art, politics, and economics tend to be pendulamatic. 
Movements and trends coalesce, and eventually they lose momentum and coherence. Trends slow and then start to swing in the opposite direction as thought leaders react against the flaws and weaknesses of the previous regime. 

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Once abstraction has run it's course it leads to a return to academic principles, and strong foundation of draftsmanship, and representation to allow expression. 

But if the return is simply to copy the academic representation of the past it becomes staid and frankly a bit pointless. Interesting for the individual artists who develops their skill, but a bit empty in communication of ideas or in being a source of inspiration for viewers. 

Without drawing skill and an ability to deliberately place paint on the canvas is the creation of art anything more than art therapy? 

If we take a quick trip back to 1865 we see the pendulum set in motion. The Central Union of Applied Arts has an exhibition of student work and it is terrible! It's so bad that at the awards ceremony the director of Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Eugene Guillaume, gives a speech about the despicable state of art education. And we start swinging.... the poor quality of student work sets the problem so visibly in the public eye that articles are written, art education receives focus and talented and trained artists and publishers work to tackle the problem. The pendulum swings further and we have a focus on good draftsmanship, classic proportions, learning by studying the highest achievements of classic Greek sculpture, teaching the basics of seeing; of form, line, tone. From this time we have the legacy of the Bargue Plates, teaching sight-size via the atelier method, and in terms of teaching actual drawing and painting skills the education in this period is exemplary.  

But we know how pendulums move. They swing. So draftsmanship is carried to the extreme. Realism becomes too studied, loses it's life, it's spontaneity. "Academic" becomes a dirty word used to denigrate a highly finished piece. And the reaction? Freedom in brush strokes, looseness, texture, expressiveness! We see it begin with Turner's genius,  his almost abstract later work. 

We see Van Gogh, who methodically followed the Bargue drawing course, (completing all the exercises twice!) move towards more expressive, swirling application of paint. 

Impressionists focusing on light and patches of color and letting drawing fall by the wayside. 

The subject of a painting is secondary to color and form and their ability to express emotion. Artwork becomes about the individual expressing her understanding of our times; interpreting the zeitgeist. It's not about artistic ability, but the ability to communicate something greater to the public.