PORTLAND, Oregon — “Macho doesn’t prove mucho,” socialite and actress Zsa Zsa Gabor once punned.
Frida Kahlo
Posted inOpinion
From Dalí to Leonardo on the Backs of Playing Cards
When Brazilian artist Sōnia Menna Barreto was a teenager in São Paulo, her mother used to stay up all night long playing cards with her friends. That memory sunk into Barreto’s consciousness, surfacing in a surreal series of trompe l’oeil paintings the artist has been creating over the last few years.
Posted inBooks
Portraits of Famous Artists with Their Little-Known Quirks
Did you know that the Chupa Chups lollipop logo was designed by Salvador Dalí? Or that Vincent van Gogh only sold one painting in his lifetime, despite the fact he created hundreds of works? James Gulliver Hancock has compiled these facts both familiar and strange into illustrated portraits of the artists.
Posted inArt
Tax Tips for Artists
T.S. Eliot’s claim that April is the cruelest month feels particularly true during tax season. Assuming you’re an artist in the United States who makes at least $10,000 a year, you may be scrambling to file your return before tomorrow’s deadline.
Posted inOpinion
See All of Frida Kahlo’s Paintings, Made by Anonymous Chinese Artists
“Largest Exhibition of the Life and Art of Frida Kahlo Makes U.S. Premiere in San Diego,” the press release announces. On its website, the show bills itself as “the only exhibition worldwide where Frida Kahlo’s paintings can be seen in one place.” But in reality, The Complete Frida Kahlo: Her Paintings. Her Life. Her Story is comprised almost entirely of copies.
Posted inArt
Before the Selfie, the Self-Portrait
CHICAGO — The selfie is a smartphone-produced version of the self-portrait, which has been a staple of art and photography history since artists first began seeing examining their own images in the mirror.
Posted inOpinion
Art and the 40th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade
On January 22, 1973 the US Supreme Court legalized abortion in a 7–2 ruling in the case of Roe v. Wade. It’s been forty years since that decision, and although abortion remains legal, it’s no less controversial. In fact, it might be moreso these days, if the growing number of restrictions on the procedure throughout the country is any indication.
Posted inArt
Surrealist Visions and California Chic
LOS ANGELES — A visiting friend from New York afforded me the chance to check out two shows currently on view at LACMA. They’re quite different — disturbing surrealism and cool California chic — but as they’re in the same Resnick Pavilion, we had to see both. It’s a great combination.
