Posted inArt

At Prague’s Veletrzni Palac

Prague itself is like a museum, where contemporary architectural gems are situated next to old landmarks. It’s an embarrassment of riches. One day we walked through Prague’s 10th century castle district, then went down the hill a couple of blocks to find a Frank Gehry-designed office complex, and continued throughout the city to see Baroque, Gothic, Art Nouveau, and Cubist buildings. But if you had to visit just one Prague museum, it would have to be the Veletrzni Palac (Fair Trade Palace), a truly massive collection of Czech and European work originally built in 1925 for trade fairs.

Posted inArt

Gender Identity: Videos by Michelle Handelman & Kalup Linzy

I made a recent realization: discussing complex gender issues leaves me speechless. I realized that after about the 14th time I tried and failed to begin this article. This new manifestation of my ignorance comes courtesy of the MIT List Visual Arts Center’s exhibition entitled Virtuoso Illusion: Cross-Dressing and the New Media Avant-Garde. The exhibit covered themes of alternative identity, gender roles, and sexuality. I was strongly drawn to two pieces in particular, one of which was Michelle Handelman’s video “Dorian” (2009), the other was Kalup Linzy’s “Conversations wit de Churen III: Da Young & Da Mess” (2005).

Posted inArt

Artists Go Hollywood: The Movie Posters

The impressive performance of Ed Harris in Pollock is the first thing that pops into my head when I think about the intersection of fine art and film. However, there are many more examples of Hollywood getting all creative and artsy … And so I say to Hollywood: Enough. Let’s branch out, diversify, and push our art flicks into some exciting new genres …