Filmmaker Robert Greenwald of Brave New Films shoots down MOCA Director Jeffrey Deitch’s decision to whitewash the Blu mural without consulting the community … This.Is.A.Must.Read. …
Posted inOpinion
Hot Links, Upside-Down Christmas Tree Edition
Christmas blues got you down? Have I got the solution for you! Check out a hot fresh batch of links for the lead-up to Christmas and all that other stuff, sure to delight, entertain, educate and amaze. I guarantee there is no Wojnarowicz or Blu content to be found. Above, I’ve switched out Natalie Jeremijenko’s upside-down trees at Mass MoCA for Christmas evergreens. How festive!
Posted inArt
Talking to Nate Hill About Punch Me Panda
During last month’s #TheSocialGraph exhibition, Hill dressed as a panda and lived in a crate in the gallery. He named the character, “Punch Me Panda.” For a penny you could either punch him in the gallery or invite him to your home in Brooklyn via tweet (@natexhill). He also roamed the streets trying to relieve people’s frustration and anger while he was dressed up in his persona. This conversation with artist happened late last month and reflects on his performance and what it is all about.
Posted inNews
Museum of Arts & Design Lifts Photo Ban, Will Others Follow?
Another New York museum has removed its photography ban in galleries. This time the Museum of Arts and Design (aka MAD) is the latest institutions to join the ranks of MoMA and other major art institutions that welcome photography in their galleries, though some restrictions may apply to specific works or exhibitions. I asked Marisa Bartolucci, MAD’s director of public affairs, about the policy change and why it happened …
Posted inArt
A Colonial Ghost House in Boston MFA’s Americas Wing
At the new Art of the Americas wing at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, four floors of galleries tell the story of American art in a new expansion designed by architect Norman Foster. The expansion marks a big moment for the museum, whose collection of American art (particularly colonial North American) is unparalleled. The new galleries showcase everything from Aztec and Mayan art to colonial silver craft, 19th century aristocratic portraiture and modern art. One particular space in the bottom floor, featuring an installation of the beams from a late 17th century North American house, makes a spectacular impact, both in terms of the art viewing experience and innovative gallery installation.
Posted inBooks
Digitizing Art Online With Triple Canopy
Triple Canopy is an online art publication that funds, produces and publishes some of the most interesting digital contemporary art projects around. Less journal than showcase, Triple Canopy still doesn’t lack for critical dialogue. Art projects coexist with written text and the whole package is wrapped up in a shiny, scrolling digital interface. Triple Canopy’s Issue 12 just came out, and features a particularly interesting showing of Nancy Spero’s “Notes in Time” (1979) that draws attention to the new possibilities of digital art publishing.
Posted inArt
FREE VOINA! Two Russian Art-ivists Languish in Jail
The radical performance art collective, Voina, has been challenging the Russian authorities for years but on November 15 two of their artists, co-founder Oleg Vortonikov and Leonid Nikolayev, were arrested for a performance this past summer that involved the overturning of a cop car as part of an anti-corruption protest.
Even with this major set back, Voina continues to fight and they resist the efforts of the authorities to squash their artistic protests. The group has fans all around the world and even stealthy street artist Banksy is a fan and has thrown his support behind the group and pledged £80,000 in an effort to help. To find out more about the situation I conducted the following email interview with Natalie Sokol, a third member who was also detained but later released, about the arrests.
Posted inSponsored
Thank You to Our December Sponsors!
Right before we all take a break for the holidays, we want to give a shout out to the people who make our blog possible and thank our sponsors for December. Art We Love is an approachable way to jump into art collecting with pieces by artists that are not only affordable but special as well. From painters, photographers and draftsman both established and emerging, Art We Love has a wide selection of work that’s carefully curated. Prices range from $15 to $2,000. I particularly like Changha Hwang’s “Roller Coaster,” seen at left.
Posted inNews
Wojnarowicz Update: Catholics United Fights Back, AA Bronson Still Rebuffed, Patti Smith Talks
Fighting the perception that all Catholics are as conservative as those espoused in William Donohue’s Catholic League call for the Smithsonian to remove David Wojnarowicz’s “A Fire in My Belly” from Hide/Seek, Catholics United has begun a petition calling for closer scrutiny Donohue’s organization. Specifically, they target his high salary and his claim to represent the wishes of all Catholics. In the meantime, artist AA Bronson has repeatedly been denied his request to have his “Felix, June 5, 1994” removed from the exhibition, and Patti Smith spoke at the Smithsonian despite controversy.
Posted inArt
Reaching for the Skye
Skye Parrott’s “Greyhound, NYC” (2010) is one of 25 images in the First Love, Last Rites show at Capricious Space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The show “documents” 18 months of her life that represent a void filled by a relationship with a boy and drugs, both of which eventually ended.
Posted inNews
Gallery Hangings Gone Wrong at Boston MFA’s New Wing
At the Boston Museum of Fine Arts’ new Wing of the Americas, the story of American art is told over the course of four floors, ranging from colonial and indigenous art through modernism. Stopping before contemporary, the third floor above ground level is the home of American modernism. The opening gallery of the floor tells a story that’s neither comprehensive nor diverse, instead presenting a kind of multifaceted, unfocused face to greet the public. How does this hanging impact the works on view in the gallery, and museum-goers’ experience of the art?
Posted inNews
Chelsea’s Luhring Augustine Buys Bushwick Outpost
BushwickBK’s Stephen Truax, who also contributes to this blogazine, reports on Luhring Augustine’s new Bushwick space:
“The new building is primarily going to be our storage facility, but we hope to have at least a quarter of the space dedicated to exhibitions,” said Barrow. A 2,500-square-foot exhibition space would be a first for Bushwick, though it’s not clear if it will be open to the public or just collectors.
