Sometimes, the internet is boring. It’s a tough truth to bear, but it is true nonetheless, and I deal with that fact when it rears its ugly head. But what brightens up those dreary internet days for me aren’t just the websites I check out for news and info, they’re the personalities that I rely on to get that info to me: their senses of humor, senses of the surreal and their ability to hand-pick and hand present stuff that I want to see. Here are ten Twitter personalities that I love hearing from.

These folks will teach you about art, about life, about dogs and about some pretty random stuff. What I dig about this group is that they don’t stick with any scheduled programming: it’s the surprising tidbits that I love to get. Included are sample Tweets for your tasting pleasure. For more Twitter recommendations, be sure to check out my list for the Chinese art world.

@cory_arcangel


The artist known for hacking Nintendo cartridges and having fun with cats on pianos, not to mention re-captioning New Yorker cartoons, posts his raw material to his Twitter. Catch these random Youtube videos and internet tidbits before they show up in a museum somewhere.

@Takashipon_En

http://twitter.com/Takashipom_En/status/6385043316416512
Did you know Takashi Murakami is actually on Twitter? Like, for real? I have it on good word that this is the actual artist tweeting, and when he tweets stuff as awesome as in-progress shots of his own work and pics from high-profile gallery openings, who could ask for anything more? I expect great things from Takashi’s Twitter in the future.

@ARTnewsmag


ARTnews magazine’s executive editor Robin Cembalest absolutely kills it on Twitter every day. She is the best at headlines and can turn any art-world news into a Post-worthy 140 characters or less. Always informative, always funny.

@NateXHill

http://twitter.com/nateXhill/status/20253626022764544
You might recognize Nate Hill from the Punch-Me Panda suit. If that’s all you know him for, you’re definitely missing out. From reflections on his performances to ideas for new projects, like getting some hot girlz to gargle milk and then reselling it, Nate is pretty great on Twitter.

@Dogsdoingthings


I don’t know why @Dogsdoingthings exists and what it means, but I do know that it is utterly hilarious. Follow @Dogsdoingthings for constant updates on what dogs are doing, reports that tend toward the completely bizarre and sometimes go off the deep end. It doesn’t need to be understood. Guaranteed to jerk you out of your 9-5 stupor.

@Brainpicker


For random interesting links during the day, there’s no one better than @Brainpicker. With an intelligent curatorial sense that beats more wide-ranging “cool stuff” blogs, Maria Popova picks through art, architecture, design, toys and everything else that her eclectic taste covers.

@Niemanlab


If you’re into online media, it pays to know how your blog sausage gets made. No one goes into the nuts and bolts of the changing world of journalism better than Nieman. Whether it’s the Gawker redesign or how Twitter itself impacts what you read online, Nieman Lab is far and away the best. As relevant for arts coverage as it is for politics, I think Nieman is pretty much essential reading for anyone with an internet connection. Hit it up.

@Bldgblog

http://twitter.com/bldgblog/status/19864302726946817
BLDGBLOG is the bible for out-there architecture and out-there ideas. No need to talk about actual buildings; Geoff Manaugh brings up things that usually can’t, or don’t, exist. But it wouldn’t be awesome if they did? One recent idea? “Genetically-modified silkworms that print the skeletal systems of other silkworms.” Geoff has been an inspiration for me for years now, and I still believe he’s one of the most original voices in the art blogosphere.

@Ditzkoff

http://twitter.com/ditzkoff/status/15789929464340480
David Itzkoff is one of the personalities behind the New York Times’ Artsbeat blog. The problem is, Artsbeat has almost none of the personality that Itzkoff does himself. The writer shows himself in his Twitter, not holding back from trashing the recent ill-fortuned Spider Man musical or poking fun at his mother company, as seen above. Fun stuff. Now, if only he could transport his voice to the NYT blog… then I might be more inclined to actually check it.

@TweetsOfOld


@TweetsOfOld tweets random lines from old newspapers, including both location and year in each Tweet. These range from the poignant to the punchy and back again, proving that Twitter-style snark isn’t all that new, and was done before, and better. Way to go 200 years ago! Whenever one of these pops up in my feed, I can’t help but be struck by the connection between times and places. Really, when it comes to people, not much has changed.

Kyle Chayka was senior editor at Hyperallergic. He is a cultural critic based in Brooklyn and has contributed to publications including ARTINFO, ARTnews, Modern Painters, LA Weekly, Kill Screen, Creators...

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