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.
Art
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Why Am I Looking at “Pictures by Women”?
Over at MoMA, there are two big survey shows that focus on a single theme throughout the history of photography from the heyday of the daguerreotype through to the present. The first, Pictures by Women: A History of Modern Photography, is an “installation that comprises more than 200 works by approximately 120 artists.” The second is an examination of photography’s relationship to sculpture titled The Original Copy: The Photography of Sculpture, 1839 to Today, that “brings together over 300 photographs, magazines, and journals, by more than 100 artists” … A good exhibition is not a numbers game. And in Pictures by Women, which is a little diffuse, it shows.
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Does Cao Fei’s “Rabid Dogs” (2002) Age Well?
Everything that matters happens in an office these days. To survive in today’s world, one can’t help but burn with curiosity about why some rise to the top while others gets stuck at the bottom box of the organizational chart. The Office, Mad Men or The Devil Wears Prada all hit this nerve with verve. But what’s been missing for me is that spunkier imagery and wilder narrative that video art can get away with. Cao Fei fills this void in spades with her 2002 video “Rabid Dogs” on view till Sunday at the Asia Society.
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William Powhida’s “Surviving the Art World Using the Art of Sorcery” Video Now Online
For those of you who could not attend William Powhida’s May 14th performance/lecture, “Surviving the Art World Using the Art of Sorcery,” at Hyperallergic HQ, the video of the event is now online on Hyperallergic’s Blip.tv channel, Hyperallergic TV.
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Minimalism’s Lateral Move at The Hogar Collection
I’m not sure Lateralism, a small show curated by artist Matt Wycoff bares out by the premise put forth in the press release, which promised to assess “a slice of the ever-shifting boundaries and implications of post minimal painting and sculptural installation,” but the exhibition at The Hogar Collection is definitely a wonderful installation of six works by four artists that look great together.
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Peeking Behind the Veil: Princess Hijab
I sit down with my laptop in a quiet, central Brooklyn café, not far from Prospect Park on a slightly overcast day in August to interview the mysterious Parisian street artist Princess Hijab. I order a San Pellegrino with lime; she abstains from any snacks or beverages. Despite the time difference from France, she’s alert and ready to engage with me. I go into the interview knowing how she guards her anonymity, and the concrete details of her identity remain elusive — this is an email interview after all.
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Mr. Dropout Is Serious
Nate Hill is at a crossroads. After a series of performances steeped in childhood imagery, he’s ready for something new. For an artist his age it’s amazing that he’s already become the subject of posts on Gawker, Time Out NY and other mainstream blogs, an article filled with anger in the Daily News, and never mind the general snarkiness of online citizens (he accused me of being one of those). Yet, Hill feels that Mr. Dropout, his new performance, is about turning a page. Starting a few weeks ago, Hill has been walking the length of Manhattan via Broadway wearing all white, including a gauze veil tucked into a white balaclava.
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Vacation Time, Blogazining Will Resume August 2nd
After a busy week that included two major events, we are taking a vacation. We expect blogging to resume Monday, August 2. Until then please continue to visit Hyperallergic LABS for more bite-sized chunks of art.
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Overheard at the Met
It’s summer in New York and the focus of the city’s art fans shifts to museums as many stage large tourist-friendly shows and turn up the air conditioning during the sweltering months. Visiting the museums I encounter people — often tourists — who discuss art with refreshingly unfiltered opinions about what they are seeing. On a recent trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I overheard some very interesting commentary from the museum goers; commentary that sparked confusion, insight, and humor … and I decided to write it down.
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Watch “Star Wars & Modernism” Live Tonight Here
If you are unable to attend tonight’s “Star Wars & Modernism” event with John Powers and Luke DuBois, don’t worry, we’re going to do our best to ensure it is livestreamed online for you. This is the first time we have attempted such a complicated feat (combining live and prerecorded video) but wish us luck … and, of course, stay tuned …
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Buy Your Tickets Now: PBR Tour This Thursday Night
This Thursday we would love for you to join us as Hyperallergic and friends will be heading to the Jersey City Museum’s Golden Door mini-golf course for a night of golf, beer, and hot dogs (and veggie dogs) on Thursday, July 22 (7-9:30 pm).
Assure your spot today by BUYING YOUR TICKET NOW, as tickets are selling fast and we may soon reach capacity and not be able to sell tickets at the door. Tickets are ONLY $15 and they support the Jersey City Museum directly.
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Tripping Out at Christopher Henry Gallery’s “T Minus 20”
On July 8, I covered the opening of the T Minus 20 exhibit at Christopher Henry Gallery, which hosted a huge group of artsy folks, veteran New Yorkers, and hipsters, who all showed up to support of an array of designers show off their their t-shirt, bag, accessory creations.
Among those included in the show were Christopher Lee Sauvé, Scooter LaForge, Olek, Brian Kenny, Inbred Hybrid Collective, Gio Black Peter, Marcos Chin, Fernanda Cohen, Christopher Makos, Nick Hooker, SUPERM (Slava Mogutin + Brian Kenny), Desi Santiago, Julia Oldham, Christian Weber, J. G. Zimmerman and more.
