On Friday, September 3, patrons of the American Center enjoyed a presentation by Eric Gleason, a director of Marlborough Gallery (Chelsea) in New York City. Mr. Gleason was in Moscow as part of his attendance at the International Sculptors Symposium held in Penza. Mr. Gleason spoke to the audience of 63 members about current trends in contemporary U.S. art, focusing particularly on hyper self-awareness in the digital age and environmental consciousness in art. He introduced several emerging artists to the audience, showing examples of their work in New York City. For example, the art work questions contemporary American society's views on the environment, satirized by the use of endangered trees or reams of paper to create 20- to 30-feet tall trees. Mr. Gleason then engaged the audience in a lengthy question-and-answer period, during which audience members debated the meaning of contemporary art, how to distinguish between art and scribbles, and whether or not the internet age has helped or hindered artistic progress. Mr. Gleason discussed how the internet, despite its challenges, has helped keep many temporary exhibitions (such as ones that decay naturally or have to be deconstructed after installation) in eternal format through photographs and web-sharing. The audience consisted of students, artists and art critics and they enjoyed the presentation greatly.