Opinion
Required Reading
This week, real estate as art, Design Museum app, Damien Hirst is a disgrace, online bids doing well at Christie's, Rem Koolhaas profile, Instagram pic cliches, African fashion blogs and more.
Hrag Vartanian
Hrag Vartanian is editor-at-large, founding editor, and co-founder of Hyperallergic.
Opinion
Required Reading
This week, the unexpected beauty of crime photography, CNN asks artists about their take on power, Jackson Pollock's last painting, kids talk Rothko, Facebook's photo obsession and more.
Opinion
Reddit's Take on Mitt Romney's Plan to Cut Arts Funding
Our "Mitt Romney Says He Would Ax Arts Funding If Elected" made it into Reddit's popular Politics subreddit and the 200+ comments are an interesting insight into the hive mind of a social news network that often ridicules contemporary art.
Opinion
A Star Is Born: Internet Loves Disfigured Jesus Fresco
This week, those of us in the Hyperallergic offices have been obsessed with the story of Cecilia Gimenez, the really bad octogenarian art "restorer" who transformed a 19th C church fresco by painter Elías García Martínez into a meme-worthy art work. And the resulting meme rocks!
Art
The Artist's Real Intentions: A Comic Strip
Artist Lauren Purje has a humorous — and spot on — take on what many artists may possibly intend.
Opinion
Lessons in Radical Art Restoration: What Not to Do 101
In what can only be described as an art conservation nightmare, a 19th C. church fresco in the town of Borja, Spain, by painter Elías García Martínez has been radically "restored" by an octogenarian neighbor.
Opinion
Required Reading
This week, Žižek on Pussy Riot, the fate of an early Richard Serra is being discussed, crimes of photography, an Indiana Museum finds a Picasso in storage, National Georgraphic's 2012 Travelers Photo Contest winners, New York's art book shops and more.
Opinion
The Best & Worst Tweets About Today's Pussy Riot Verdict
The Twitterverse is full of opinions and here is just some of the most notable 140 characters or less commentary that appeared on our screens.
News
Pussy Riot Is Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for "Hooliganism"
The trial of feminist punk group Pussy Riot has attracted global attention and has exposed Russia's hardline against freedom of expression and dissent. Today, the trio of band members have been found guilty by a Moscow court of "hooliganism" and that they had "crudely undermined social order."
Opinion
How Does the LA Scene Measure Up (Literally) with NYC?
You know the tired old cliche about LA sprawl? It appears to be true about the city's art world.
Art
Who to Follow on Instagram: Art Edition
I adore Instagram, and while I'm still wondering how the Facebook acquisition will impact this jewel of a smartphone photo-sharing service, here are some art-related people, institutions and accounts you should follow to inject some arty content into the palm of your hand.
Opinion
All You Really Need to Know About Gallery Girls
Yes, it's essentially Mean Girls in a gallery.