In a candid interview with the Germany’s Deutsche Welle last week, the Russian art historian Ekaterina Degot stated that freedom in Russia’s cultural sector is quickly diminishing.
Laura C. Mallonee
Laura C. Mallonee is a Brooklyn-based writer. She holds an M.A. in Cultural Reporting and Criticism from NYU and a B.F.A. in painting from Missouri State University. She enjoys exploring new cities and loitering in her community bookstore.
Posted inArt
Cat Photography Before the Internet
David Foster Wallace thought irony was ruining our culture, but it has certainly made cat memes entertaining. But have you ever wondered about the ancestors to our cute cat photos — what pictures of furry felines looked like in the un-ironic years before sites like LOLCats existed?
Posted inArt
The Politics of Rio Graffiti and Unrest Over the World Cup
Since graffiti became officially legal in February (just months after Justin Bieber visited Brazil and got in trouble for spray-painting on a wall there), artists have been uninhibitedly plastering the city with images expressing their concerns about the FIFA World Cup.
Posted inArt
What We Talk About When We Talk About Art Online
“Thank you guys for coming,” Alexis Clements said last Thursday night to a small crowd at the Brooklyn Museum largely comprised of women. “Actually, I shouldn’t say ‘guys,’” she interrupted herself, “Thank you all for coming.” That introduction set the tone for a panel that the playwright, performer, and Hyperallergic contributor moderated, called “The Art of Feeling: Contemporary Arts Writing and the Internet.”
Posted inNews
Michelangelo’s David Statue Growing Frail
From the tombs of the Medici family to St. Peter’s Basilica, Michelangelo designed several structures in his native Italy that have endured the threat of earthquakes. But the artist wasn’t anticipating the rumblings caused by hordes of tourists and automobile traffic.
Posted inOpinion
“Dia de los Muertos” Meets Fast Food America
In the world of fast food art, there are Spanish-speaking Chihuahuas, bespectacled southern gentlemen, and hamburger-dealing clowns. Now, there’s a new and unlikely emblem of American gastronomy: a skeleton.
Posted inArt
Faith Ringgold’s Unrealized Tribute to Harlem Literary Life
A little-known depiction of Harlem literary life and African-American literature by Faith Ringgold is currently on view at the New York Public Library in its exhibition The ABC of It: Why Children’s Books Matter.
Posted inArt
A Butterfly for Brooklyn: Judy Chicago Turns 75
Last Saturday night, a crowd gathered in Prospect Park for a 20-minute pyrotechnic performance, “A Butterfly for Brooklyn,” by feminist art icon Judy Chicago in honor of her 75th birthday.
Posted inNews
Members of Turkey’s Art Community Speak Out Against Government
Turkey has long been known for its relatively liberal political system for the region, but over the past year the country has begun clamping down on free speech. Now, the video artist Ali Kazma, who represented the country at the 2013 Venice Biennale, has published an online protest statement titled “Something Rotten in the Republic of Turkey.”
Posted inArt
Pixels Wants to Put Image Licensing Back in the Hands of Photographers
Pixels.com, a spinoff of the print-on-demand website Fine Art America — is aiming to put licensing back into the hands of photographers.
Posted inOpinion
Hip-Hop Meets Art History
Cecilia Azcarate’s art history tumblelog B4XVI pairs pictures of rappers with historical sculptures, paintings, and statues from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection.
Posted inNews
Venezuelans Protest Tyranny With Performance Art and Nude Selfies
A young man stands on a sidewalk in Caracas, Venezuela holding a sign that reads, “De niño eran mis héroes. Ahora me reprimen.” (“As a child they were my heroes, now they repress me”). Surrounding him, young men and women dressed in combat fatigues hold toy guns, their faces painted bright green. They’re dissenting against the Venezuelan government security forces’ bloody crackdowns on protesters.
