Sometimes I wish a 1000 words could kill a picture. #criticism— William (@Powhida) November 10, 2010 I guess the old adage is wrong, how about 10,000? Art would be so much more fun if words had this kind of power.
Opinion
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Art Vocabulary of the Day: Ostranenie
I thought I’d share with you a term that I encountered in my internet wanderings this morning, found in this essay by Dana Ward on artist Cory Arcangel, hat tip to Modern Art Notes’ excellent Wednesday link post.
The Word of the Day is: Ostranenie!
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Yale Art Dept Website Has “Officially Cemented Trolling as an Art Form”
Yale School of Art may have the reputation of being an institution that turns out future art market-friendly artist gazillionaires, but their website is hurting the eyes of people all over the web.
Recently, a bunch of users on Reddit have been cursing the institution’s jarring — which may be an understatement — website. If you have a few minutes to kill this morning and want to be lost in the hilarity of their reactions be my guest. The page is titled, “I’ll bet Yale’s Art Department has an awesome-looking site! Wait… WHAT?! : WTF
ITS.PURE.INTERNET.GOLD.
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Breaking: Hieronymus Bosch Lied, You Can’t Play the Flute With Your Butt
A group of enterprising Oxford musicologists have endeavored to recreate the musical instruments found in the Bosch’s famed 16th century painting “The Garden of Earthly Delights,” a painting that’s well known for its unreality. Conclusion? “Whatever Bosch’s painting depicts, it’s not possible to play a flute with your bottom.”
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New Collectors Behave Like “Louts”
Here come the new collectors, same as the old collectors. Barron’s has an article on collectors from the developing world asking for unorthodox art deals, such as payment terms that extend over “weeks and months,” and failing to follow through on promises to buy. Silly new collectors! Don’t you know you’re growing faster than the US anyway!?
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Underbelly Project Gets Bombed, Perps Arrested
The Underbelly Project caused a stir last week both because of its expansive murals and because of its politics. We’ve argued that Underbelly was a step backward for street art, and it appears some have agreed with us. The underground exhibition has been infiltrated, and the murals run over with spraypaint, Gothamist reports.
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Two Mixtapes By Yoshitomo Nara, For You
One of the most fun parts of Asia Society’s Yoshitomo Nara retrospective is that the galleries are soundtracked: the artist’s paintings, drawings and sculptures are accompanied by a selection of handpicked tunes. Music more than anything else drives Nara’s work, from the rebellion of punk to the navel-gazing of blues singer-songwriters. Below, find the exhibition’s two playlists.
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Art Teachers Remembered In This Week’s Comments
This week’s post on Hyperallergic about how awesome art teachers are sparked a lot of response, so we decided to start a little Twitter action: we re-tweeted everyone who sent us their most influential art teachers, whether it was a college professor or an elementary school instructor. This heartwarming exercise brought together a list of all the teachers that deserve thanks, for inspiring us, for starting us out on the art world paths we’re on now, or just being great people.
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NSFW: Sultan’s Bro Should’ve Hired Jeff Koons
The recent case of the dictator Sultan of Brunei brother’s sex sculptures makes us wonder why the member of southeast Asia royalty didn’t just commission Jeff Koons, who knows a thing or two, three, maybe ten, about sex sculptures. I can’t believe I’m going to write this but Koons looks almost tasteful in comparison.
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Vegas Underground: A Destitute Community With Art
Underneath Las Vegas are 200 miles of flood tunnels that are also home to 1,000 people and an art gallery. According to the Daily Mail, “… the destitute and hopeless have constructed a community beneath the city and have even dedicated one section of tunnels to an art gallery filled with intricate graffiti.” [Daily Mail]
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Purple’s Olivier Zahm Just Really Loves Women, Bro
Reports hold that Purple Magazine editor Olivier Zahm, widely known for being a skeezy dude who documents his love sex life obsessively online on Purple’s Diary, is just super into the ladies. Says Rachel Chandler, a Purple contributor, “A lot of people think he’s a sexist pig… What they don’t get is that he really loves women. Like, more than any man I’ve ever met.” A New York Times profile has the details.
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Art Teachers Rock!
I came across this wonderful story in the Hackensack Chronicle and my heart melted. Art teachers are the heart and soul of the visual arts but they often don’t get the recognition they deserve. I was happy to hear that this small group of teachers in Hackensack was recognized by the Art Educators of New Jersey for their service.
I have personally benefited immensely from great art teachers and I’ve been fortunate enough to have quite a few along the way. The one who made the biggest impression on me was Toronto painter Ron Satok, who is famous for having painted a prominent mural at the original Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. Incredibly, Satok is blind.