Art
So far this year I’ve been to two different events that highlight different but related approaches to political organizing among artists here in New York. Just to clarify what I mean by organizing — literally bringing individual artists together into a larger community that can advocate for and crea
Art
A few times during her talk last week, historian and curator Yasmin Ramírez looked over at the copy of Art Workers: Radical Practice in the Vietnam War Era by Julia Bryan-Wilson sitting on the table in front of her. It wasn’t a look of love. Each time she referenced the book it was, at least in part
Art
MIAMI — In the past year, there's been a lot discussion about the Chinese workers who make Apple products. Exposés and reports have been written, all of which have presumably made us a bit more aware of the conditions under which those workers labor and live. But we still buy iPads and iPhones and M
Art
At one point, Arts & Labor member Blithe Riley, who was in the audience at the round table, made a comment about “freaking out a little.” This highlighted the disconnect between the political and social aspirations of Arts & Labor and the general role of art critics for me.
Art
Last Thursday night at Housing Works Bookstore, Occupy Wall Street affinity group Arts & Labor organized a panel of New York art writers to discuss the labor of art criticism. Village Voice and New York Times critic Martha Schwendener opened the round table with the question, “What is the labor of w
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Roughly 50 maintenance workers and cleaners at the British Museum staged a brief strike this past Monday, the AFP reports, protesting the museum's plans to privatize maintenance work starting next April. The workers are represented by the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union and Unite, and bot
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After a year of tense negotiations, a breakdown in negotiations, protests and actions and then more negotiations, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1021 have settled their dispute! It's a happy day for art news.
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The 200 workers who went on strike beginning in July to protest the potential fate of Italy's beloved film studios, Cinecittà, have returned to their jobs — at least temporarily.
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The art world is a notoriously secretive place. Even though it's pretty much universally agreed upon that the system and its attendant economics are royally screwed up, people are still hesitant to talk openly about the problems. In the past year, thankfully, this has been shifting a bit, due in par
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Rome's Cinecittà Studios have provided the sets for some of the most famous movies in Western cinema: William Wyler's Ben-Hur, Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita, Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather: Part III, Anthony Minghella's The English Patient, Roberto Benini's Life Is Beautiful, and Martin Sco
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Yesterday, OWS walked into North End Grill in Manhattan's Financial District to raise awareness among patrons that the establishment is owned by Sotheby's board member Danny Meyer, who is part of a company that has lockout unionized art handlers since August 2011.
Art
I left the 2012 Whitney Biennial with a feeling of leadenness that no amount of free coffee (available at Monday’s press preview, and many thanks for that) or Werner Herzog’s video ode to beauty (“Hearsay of the Soul,” 2012) could alleviate.