US-focused graphic novel publisher Tokyopop, founded in 1997, has announced that it will be closing the doors on its American operation on May 31. Tokyopop was the first to publish Japanese manga (comics, or graphic novels) in their original, un-flipped state and did much to popularize what has been called the “manga revolution.”
Posted inArt
Julia K Gleich on Bushwick’s New Collaborative Ballet
Last night, In the Use of Others for the Change premiered at the Center for Performance Research in Brooklyn. Choreographed by Julia K. Gleich, the new ballet featured collaborations with some familiar faces on the Bushwick art scene, including Audra Wolowiec, Austin Thomas, Kevin Regan and Andrew Hurst. I spoke to Gleich today about the show, its challenges, its surprises and the differences between New York and London when it comes to contemporary ballet.
Posted inNews
LAST DAY! Looking for a Few Good Summer Interns
It’s almost summer so Hyperallergic is on the look out for a few good interns. The internship would run from late-May through August (negotiable), and the deadline is Friday, April 22.
Posted inArt
Mail Art Bulletin: Fear of Flying
Lynn Aquaheart of Conway, Arkansas, mailed us a a small canvas in an envelope covered with objects (and an animal) that fly. Inside was a small canvas painted light blue and covered with an inspiring message. We’re not sure if she meant it as a slogan for art in general or a commentary on mail art specifically, we’re guessing the latter.
Posted inOpinion
Political Performance in the US House
American politics has always been deeply connected to spectacle. Yesterday, Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) delivered a one-minute “speech” on the floor of the House of US Reps and it was pure art.
Posted inArt
The Internet’s Grandma Moses?
On the internet exhibition space The State, a Tumblr-based website, artist Chris Collins has published “tyepilot.com”. The text and image-based essay riffs off the artist’s discovery of a hidden cache of spam images advertising work-from-home internet jobs. Tyepilot’s images are remarkably reminiscent of the trends of contemporary internet art, recycling the visual tropes of the early internet, from bad photo manipulation to fake lens flare. The images are fascinating, but even more interesting is our fascination for the lost artifacts of the internet, and the vagueness of their sources and creators. Could finds of these semi-anonymous digital artifacts constitute the folk art of the internet age? Is Tyepilot the Grandma Moses of the 21st century?
Posted inNews
1001 Chairs Protest for Ai Weiwei This Weekend
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has been missing for 12 days without official charge from the Chinese government. In protest, artists and activists all over the world are planning a global sit-in this Sunday, April 17 at 1 pm, staking out Chinese embassies with 1001 Chairs for Ai Weiwei, a take on Ai Weiwei’s 2007 “Fairytale” project in Kassel, Germany.
All over the world, protesters will bring chairs to Chinese embassies and consulates and “sit peacefully” in support of Ai. Spearheaded by New York City’s own Creative Time, the organization writes that “1001 Chairs for Ai Weiwei calls for [Ai’s] immediate release, supporting the right of artists to speak and work freely in China and around the world.” See the event’s Facebook page for details, including gathering places and times all over the world.
Posted inSponsored
[Sponsor] Dia:Beacon Presents Robert Whitman’s Passport
This Saturday, April 16 and Sunday, April 17 at 8pm, Dia Art Foundation will present multimedia and theater artist Robert Whitman’s Passport project at Dia:Beacon in Beacon, New York and at the Alexander Kasser Theater in Montclair, New Jersey. This ambitious new work combines non-narrative, imagistic theater with live performance, video projections and sound installations in an artist-created environment.
Posted inOpinion
A Helpful Guide to Fair Use
Fair use is a term we hear bandied about all the time nowadays (Shepard Fairey vs. AP, Patrick Cariou vs. Richard Prince, etc.), but what is it really? The library of the University of Minnesota wants to help you out.
Posted inOpinion
Robert Storr: Art Writers Are “Bottom Feeders”
In his final column for Frieze, writer, painter and star curator Robert Storr calls art writers (himself included) “bottom feeders,” and constructs an elaborate metaphor for writers as the “squid” of the art world — swimming in their own ink. This is the “cruel, Darwinian truth,” says Storr, yet the goodbye column is also a note of support for writers and writing.
Posted inArt
Mail Art Bulletin: Layers of Discovery
Since we sent out a request for mail art, we’ve received 27 mail art submissions from five countries (Belgium, Canada, Spain, the United States and Uruguay) and nine US states (Arkansas, California, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Vermont). The work we’re featuring today gives you an inkling at how layered and mysterious the medium of Mail Art can be. Stuffed with a zine, faux currency, postcards, “stamps,” random ephemera and a personal note addressed to Hyperallergic, the latest edition of the Mail Art Bulletin is from Larry Angelo of Manhattan.
Posted inBooks
Meditations on Celebrity Over Millennia
Lapham’s Quarterly is a quarterly (duh) publication edited by Lewis Lapham (also duh), former Harper’s Magazine editor from 1976 to 1981. Each issue of the staid, stately magazine focuses on a single theme; previous themes have included “The City,” “Sports & Games,” and “About Money.” Drawing on writers and source texts from throughout history, Lapham’s provides a unique perspective on its chosen topics by sheer editorial insight, pairing eras and authors to best highlight the similarities and contrast between changing perceptions. It’s the proximity of all of these authoritative voices that gives Lapham’s its historical heft, but it’s the lightness of their touch that makes the text fun, an adventure and a time machine in the reading.
