Interview
The Artist-Filled Shadow Army of World War II
There are many reasons that the US and Allied troops won World War II. One of the more obscure ones may be the 1,100 men of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, aka the Ghost Army.
Interview
Interview
Beer with a Painter: John Walker
I have long admired John Walker’s work for its unique combination of tough materialism and romantic lyricism. I recently met him in his studio at Boston University, where he is the head of the MFA program. My visit with Walker happened to take place on the Thursday after the Boston Marathon tragedy,
Interview
Artist Exchange: In Conversation with Peter Acheson
This is an essay about communication and exchange between painters. It has to do with developing a shared language, and with exploring the nature and extent of our theoretical basis in painting.
Interview
Blindness, Memory, and the Vestiges of Anarchy
While the Metropolitan Museum of Art canonizes punk on the Upper East Side, A Gathering of the Tribes gallery is quietly celebrating its 20th anniversary on the Lower East Side. Across the street from the Nuyorican Poets Café and blocks from the former CBGB, Steve Cannon’s A Gathering of the Tribes
Interview
The New Digital Puritans: Social Network Censorship #NSFW
Reuben Negron, an artist who lives and works in Connecticut and New York, is best known for his realistic watercolor depictions of intimate moments, ranging from the raw to the vulnerable. His scenes often give me the impression of looking in a mirror. Negron's series This House of Glass, “an intima
Interview
The View from Dubai: Censorship and Resistance in the Emirates
In my screed from a few weeks ago, "When Artspeak Masks Oppression," I cited the Guggenheim-Emirates partnership as an instance of contemporary art's institutional culture operating in service of authoritarianism. One of the examples I mentioned of the propagandistic character of this primarily ling
Interview
Upcycled: A Conversation With Willie Cole
When I first made contact with Willie Cole it was to request that he submit a piece for an exhibition I curated, Art Enology. Here I was, a novice curator, reaching out to a living legend for an exhibition that was launching in a mere three months. I never expected him to say yes. I just wanted him
Interview
Are You or Aren't You An Opera? A Conversation with Joseph Keckler
Have you ever met a Minotaur, believed you could draw with your voice, try to cut out your voice box, spoken to demons on the phone, or taken a few too many shrooms? Perhaps not, but you can experience all of the above at I am an Opera, a satirical one-person musical show written, composed, and perf
Interview
In Kentucky, Tomorrow Comes Today
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Since moving here with my family a couple of years ago, The Land of Tomorrow (LOT) has been on my mind. It is a provocative production and exhibition space established by Drura Parish and Dmitry “Dima” Strakovsky, first in Lexington (2009) and then in Louisville (2010), Kentucky.
Interview
Standing on the Edge of Space: Painting as Noun and Verb
Oil on canvas. Evolving motifs. Line embedded in color. Compositions suspended between chaos and stability.
Interview
Making Documentaries More Real
In an email, a friend of mine mentioned a show taking place at the Kitchen next week: The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller, created by the filmmaker Sam Green, with live music by indie rockers Yo La Tengo. The subject matter seemed like solid geeky/arty fare, but what stood out to me in the event
Interview
Beer with a Painter: Jane Dickson
Jane Dickson is best known for her nocturnal cityscapes of the old Times Square — peep shows and porn parlors — but she has also mined subjects such as Las Vegas, Coney Island, American highways, demolition derbies, and suburban homes. She often paints on alternative supports like carpets, vinyl, sa