Time to cozy up inside and draw trees …
February 2014
A Delicate Savior: When Venetian Glass Was Believed to Be a Poison Detector
In The Power of Poison, currently at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, the history of poison as a natural defense, a murderous weapon, and even a cure is explored in detail.
Asian-American Portraiture Between Personal and Political
LOS ANGELES — Vancouver-based artist Ho Tam has catalogued many iterations of multiples throughout his career, ranging from commercial imagery to Asian male bodies.
Pussy Riot Release New Video with Yesterday’s Whipping Incident
In today’s high-paced media environment, yesterday’s footage of Russian security officials in traditional Cossack headgear whipping members of Pussy Riot (below) has already made it into the activist group’s latest video, “Putin Will Teach You How to Love.”
First Look: New Work By Jasper Johns
Last week, we noted the interview Jasper Johns gave the Financial Times regarding his Regrets, the octogenarian’s latest body of work and title of his forthcoming show at the Museum of Modern Art.
Invisible Cities: Matthew Barney’s Blindspot
Let’s look past the globules, barnacles, and goo. At its heart, Matthew Barney’s River of Fundament is a film about white, male America’s failure to comprehend urbanism.
People Lose Their Minds Over Obama’s Art History Apology
US President Obama’s apology to University of Texas at Austin art history professor Ann Collins Johns has created a frenzy of media coverage but also some inexplicably strange responses.
Mexico City Artists Discuss Their Work in New Interview Series from Kadist Art Foundation
In Fall 2013, Kadist Art Foundation established a new series of interviews with artists in Mexico City.
The Possibilities of Paper: Czech Pop-Up Book Art
The innovative paper engineering of an overlooked Czech artist is currently filling the second floor gallery of the Grolier Club. The Upper East Side bibliophilic society opened an exhibition of pop-up books and other paper art by Vojtěch Kubašta last month, but for a long time the artist’s work couldn’t even get past the Iron Curtain.
Art and Liquor in Greenpoint
Chelsea openings, for the most part, are what they are: slightly glamorous events drawing fashionable crowds that are held in lovely, spacious galleries that tend to show predictable, big-name artists.
Embattled Curators and Job-Hunting Profs: 2014 CAA Conference
CHICAGO — The 102nd conference of the College Art Association (CAA) took place in Chicago last weekend. Thousands of art educators, museum curators, art historians, and even some actual artists gathered at the Hilton Hotel on Michigan Avenue for a four-day gabfest.
Transmediale Festival Shuts Down NSA Imitators
Julian Oliver and Danja Vasiliev, two artists participating in Berlin’s Transmediale 2014 (January 29–February 2), had an artwork summarily disabled at the festival last month because the piece uses the same technology as the National Security Agency (NSA) to hijack cell phone information.