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Opinion

You Stupid Kunst

This video is a tall glass of cool water and worth your time just to learn the six types of art bollocks (more commonly known as "artspeak") …

Opinion

Is Holland Going Through a Cultural Meltdown? [UPDATED]

You may have seen it in the New York Times: a half-page ad warning readers “Do not enter the Netherlands. Cultural meltdown in progress.” The ad (which apparently cost $26,000) was bought by a group called Dutch Artists 2011 to protest the catastrophic funding cuts proposed by Holland's Geert Wilder

Art

How Ai Weiwei Saw New York City

Ever wondered what New York City looks like through the eyes of a great artist? In a newly opened exhibition at Asia Society, viewers get the chance to see how recently released Chinese artist Ai Weiwei saw New York City in a series of diaristic photos taken between 1983 and 1993.

Books

Too Many MFAs Spoil the Zine

Birdsong, the local Williamsburg zine now in its 15th issue, is a blend of short stories, poems, drawings, collages and photographs: it is primarily a literary magazine that features artwork woven between each written piece. Birdsong’s appeal can be summed up nicely by the resumes of the artists and

Opinion

Spot Kalup Linzy's New Musical Vagina

Ignore the nice moody song and James Franco's disembodied smiling head, and just concentrate on the cheesiness of Kalup Linzy's new music video filled with vagina imagery … Judy Chicago would be proud, or weirded out. Take your pick.

Art

Thinking About Art and Devotion

Art as a messenger of belief is nothing new. From the obvious ostentatious examples like the Sistine Chapel, to the much more ephemeral Buddhist sand mandalas, faith has often driven artistic creation. Yet, can art be a system of belief in itself? The artists in Architecture of Devotion at the Gowan

Art

An Abstract Moment in Chelsea

Checking out the Chelsea gallery scene last week, my results were surprisingly mixed — from overly offbeat summer shows to nonsensical group exhibitions, the galleries just didn't seem to have it together. But one thread did emerge in my wanderings. I discovered that Chelsea was having a brief love

Announcement

Thank You to Our June Sponsors!

We would like to take a break from our daily posting to thank our sponsors for the month of June. These are the people and places that keep us publishing, so be sure to check them out.

Opinion

Ethical Africa Bag Collection May Actually Help People

At Pitti Immagine, one of the largest fashion trade shows in Florence, Dame Vivienne Westwood debuted her second Ethical Fashion Africa Collection in partnership with the International Trade Centre. The first, back in February, was a small offering of three tote bags, but for her sophomore effort sh

News

Ai Weiwei to Pay $2 Million in Tax Penalties, Chinese Art Scene Moves On

According to Ai Weiwei's lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan, Ai's FAKE studio has been accused (and seemingly convicted) of evading over 5 million RMB ($770,000 USD) and is to pay 7 million RMB ($1 million USD) in fines, together totaling around $2 million USD. Ai's mother Gao Ying speaks on her son's arrest, rele

Opinion

Wait, Raphael Painted Porn at the Vatican?

I don't know how I missed this detail in Renaissance art class, but here's a first-hand account of visiting a sexy bathroom in the Papal apartment painted by one of the masters of the High Renaissance.

News

NYPD Knows the Answer to "Where's Waldo?"

If you've walked around New York, odds are you've seen Joseph Waldo's work. The artist “defaced” city advertising by adding not the traditional scribbled pen mustache … but now the comedic artist has been arrested on charges including felony criminal mischief and possession of a graffiti instrument.