Stock photography is a rapidly growing, global industry — and thanks to mass proliferation on the internet, a billion-dollar one, too. But let’s not kid ourselves: we look down on these hypercommercial images and consider them akin to junk food: cheap, ubiquitous, and easily digestible.
February 8, 2013
Posted inNews
Cooper Union Art Faculty Rejects Proposal for Tuition
It’s been two months since the Cooper 11 students ended their clock tower occupation, but the battle at the Cooper Union over the question of tuition is far from over. The latest news is that the faculty of the School of Art has taken a public stand against the idea of charging tuition.
Posted inOpinion
What People Are Saying About George W. Bush’s Bathroom Paintings
It should be expected that anything related to George W. Bush and art will generate discussion, so we couldn’t wait to see the comments from the netizenry about the latest Presidential Sunday painter.
Posted inArt
Ordering the Wild: A Talk with Amy Lincoln
After a recent trip to Key West, I realized why most contemporary art in naturally beautiful places tends to suck. It’s because the viewer has access to the real thing — a magnificent sunset, a flock of pelicans, a sailboat on turquoise seas. So depictions of what look better out a car window never measure up. There are some exceptions to this rule, of course; see: Georgia O’Keefe.
But in a place like New York, a big and sometimes ugly city with little access to natural beauty, artists must convey the latter via art. Perhaps it’s a defense mechanism to ward off the stress and discomfort often associated with life here.
Posted inOpinion
Do Bush’s Paintings Tell Us Anything About the Former President?
Thanks to a hacker with the odd sounding handle of Guccifer (Lucifer of Gucci?) we have all been blessed with a glimpse of the artistic private life of former US President George W. Bush. Guccifer tapped into various Bush emails from the period of 2009–2012, which included private correspondence and family photos, but also his art …
Posted inNews
Woman Vandalizes Iconic Delacroix Painting at the Louvre
What is it with art vandalism these days? First there was the Picasso at the Menil Collection last summer, then the Rothko at the Tate Modern. Now a woman has defaced Delacroix’s “Liberty Leading the People” at an outpost of the Louvre. Is this some kind of weird, terrible trend?
Posted inOpinion
Les Ballets De #FAIL
Alternatively, “You vultures are not supposed to steal this thing! Are you stupid or just greedy? Sit and watch the dancing,” but that might have been too long.
