Robert Irwin has been a favorite of mine for some time now. His work helped to pioneer the 1960s California Light and Space movement, and it is often beautiful to experience in person. Having never seen his well-known window installation “1° 2° 3° 4°,” which was originally installed at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, I was wanted to stop by his show at Pace Gallery in midtown Manhattan to see the piece revisited.
Ben Valentine
Ben Valentine is an independent writer living in Cambodia. Ben has written and spoken on art and culture for SXSW, Salon, SFAQ, the Los Angeles Review of Books, YBCA, ACLU, de Young Museum, and the Museum of the Moving Image, to name a few.
Posted inOpinion
Bangin’ Haring Baby Bib
Walking through a Duane Reade the other day looking for a snack, I stumbled across this Keith Haring Baby Bib by Bumkins.
Posted inOpinion
Sand Painting at Columbus Circle
I stopped by the Museum of Art and Design to see the public section of the show Swept Away taking place on the sidewalks surrounding the museum with Tibetan mandala-esque street art by Joe Mangrum.
Posted inOpinion
Dancing With Light
“Future Self” by Random International is a jaw-droppingly beautiful performance of dance, light and music.
Posted inOpinion
Lolcats ARTsCritz
Lolcats stopped by the office today and asked the staff if they could write a review of a show. It was Friday and we thought … why not!?
Posted inArt
Alternative Economies: A Conversation With Caroline Woolard
We’ve all heard the complaints about income inequality. And although how to actually solve the economic crisis is up for debate, we all agree that it’s a hard time to make a living. This is true for everyone, not just artists, but perhaps artists can lead the way in offering real alternatives to our flawed economic system. Artists, as creative people already faced with an extremely competitive market where success is hard won, are in a unique position to confront the issues of income distribution.
Posted inOpinion
The Internet Makes Me Happy
An online artwork by Emilio Gomariz makes you self conscious about enjoying the web.
Posted inBooks
A Global Toy Story
Do children’s toys breed a culture of violence and war? This was one of the many questions you’re left to ponder when reading Miniscule Blue Helmets on a Massive Quest by Dutch artist Pierre Derks.
Posted inArt
Re-Painting a King, Resisting Imperialism and a New Type of Art Conservation
Renowned conservator Glenn Wharton recently released a new book, The Painted King: Art, Activism and Authenticity in Hawai’i, which he spoke about last week at New York University. Wharton’s book provides a captivating account of his years spent with the well-known statue of the 19th C. Hawai’ian King Kamehameha I and the surrounding community that became involved with it’s conservation. Although art conservation has historically focused its attention on the chemistry and original artistic intent of artworks, Wharton works to bring a social aspect into the practice.
Posted inArt
The Volume of the Everyday
Zimoun is a Swiss sound and kinetic artist whose installations incorporate hundreds of everyday objects and simple movements to create a foreign experience for the viewer. He asks questions like, “What are the aesthetic and tonal qualities of cardboard in motion?” Traveling recently to see Volume, his first solo show in New York, I was oddly excited to find out.
Posted inArt
A Report from #ArtsTech’s Social Media Art Panel
On Wednesday I attended “Social Media Week Edition: Social Media Art,” the newest in a series of Arts, Culture and Technology Meetups. These meetups, organized by Julia Kaganskiy, global editor for The Creators Project and co-director of Blue Box Gallery, are all about the potential for technology in and out of the art world.
Posted inOpinion
Statue Porn
While learning more about public art, I began to notice a startling trend; it appears that the public possesses an odd affinity toward public works. Aside from the common images of the Statue of Liberty or the popular monuments in Washington, DC, I found image after image of art lovers groping, humping, licking and kissing public statues in a trend I have come to refer to as Statue Porn.
