imbalance in modern art. As for the question of realism in painting, for years we’ve been told by art world elites that figurative painting is passé, some have even gone so far as to say "painting is dead." No one is ever taken to task for making such ludicrous remarks, but as an advocate of figurative realism I’m continually accused of being a reactionary who hates modern art and wishes to impose realism upon everyone - which is utter nonsense. My position is that figurative realism has largely been excluded and shunned by the art world in favor of conceptual, performance, video and installation art. In calling for the re-establishment of painting to its former respected position, I’m seeking equilibrium — but I’m not looking for a return to the past. To quote a phrase from the Stuckists, we cannot paint as if space travel, computers, and punk rock never happened. I think painters must also offer exceptional content, so I’m thinking in terms of superior technique coupled with interesting narratives or messages. On a personal level, I have a lot to say to my audience, and figurative realism affords me the best way to make my intentions clearly understood. He has taken issue with Fred Ross of Art Renewal Center, disagreeing with his Ross's unstinting admiration of the French 19th century Salon artist, William-Adolphe Bouguereau. Vallen admires Bouguereau's technique, but considers he was "imprisoned by his extremely conservative vision of what painting could be". Vallen also stated that Ross and his followers "are not incorrect when noting the follies of modern art, but their total rejection of it is beyond the pale and thoroughly reactionary." Web sites In 1997, Vallen founded The Black Moon web site as a forum for anime and Japanese culture. He now publishes the web site Art for a Change, which promotes the socially transformative role of his own and other artists' work, and acts as a forum and resource facility; he is a "popular arts blogger", In 2004 he campaigned against the threatened closure of the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, calling Mayor James Hahn's budget team "vulgarian accountants and hack bureaucrats" and "gray-suited Philistines." In 2007, he criticised the $25 million BP sponsorship of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art as a blatant PR maneuver, observing that since 2002 BP had paid $125 million in settlements for environmental violations. Shows This list