A new video series at the New York Times seeks to remedy the suspension of disbelief often required when dealing with the absurd in “court trials, depositions, or government hearings.”
New York Times
Posted inOpinion
Art Is the New Gold
Channeling the conspiratorially unhinged salesmanship of a Cash 4 Gold pitchman, the New York Times ran a hilariously bad art market trend piece today — a story titled “As Money Props Up Art World, Prospects Are Mixed,” which portends to link macroeconomic trends with demand for art market investment vehicles. In its own imbecility it reveals a different sort of trend: the perpetual shortcomings in art market coverage, an area that often sees a minimum of rigor and a maximum of price-tag sensationalism at major newspapers.
Posted inArt
Work of Art Recap: Fall of the Newspaper Industry
This week, we commence with some shots of our artistes at home, followed by another Bravo tradition: an absurdly early wake-up! This is a classic Bravo tradition in which the host/mentor, in our case, Simon, comes over to whatever West Elm palace the reality show competitors happen to be staying in, and awaken them obscenely early to take them to their next hellish challenge.
Posted inOpinion
Is the Internet the Death of Performance Art?
Did video kill the performance art star? The New York Times asks this question in an article that claims that the constant spectacle of YouTube and social media have trumped performance art’s shock value.
Posted inArt
New York’s Obsessive Graffiti Disorder
BEWARE! If you just got laid off you may be at high risk for OGD: Obsessive Graffiti Disorder. According to a recent New York Times article graffiti is sprouting up like bad acne in cities all over the country and the recession is partly to blame. The article narrowly treats graffiti as a pathological pastime of a depressed nation, or a symptom of social turmoil at large. Yet after reading this biased report filled with mostly disgruntled quotes from city officials, I wonder what else the Times could have addressed in order to offer a bigger picture on graffiti and street art rather than the usual concerns it brings of urban apocalypse.
Posted inNews
What Is Going on With Ai Weiwei? July Updates
We last posted on Ai Weiwei with news of his associate’s heart attack. Since his release, news of the artist has significantly slowed but he’s not out of the woods yet. Ai faces charges of mass tax evasion, and the normally vocal artist has remained disturbingly quiet Here’s an update on what’s been going on since our last post.
Posted inArt
I Fell Asleep in Front of David Lachapelle
David Lachapelle has returned to his career. Much like the similarly-named Dave Chapelle, Lachapelle retreated to a farm after his documentary Rize flopped. But evidently nature wasn’t quite thrilling enough for him, and so he’s back in New York, with a retrospective at the Michelman Gallery and a show of new work at Lever House. I attended Lachapelle’s talk on his new exhibition at the Michelman Gallery, a retrospective of early works from the 1980s. Lachapelle spoke thoughtfully, choosing his words slowly and with great care for how each phrase would be perceived (a good choice, given the reaction to his recent New York Times profile). He was gracious, soft-spoken and polite. The gallery’s tiny audience hung on to his every word. I did not. I fell asleep.
Posted inArt
Walking Into the Matrix on Park Avenue
Entering Japanese artist/composer Ryoji Ikeda’s new installation “the transfinite,” which is currently showing at the Park Avenue Armory, feels like sitting inside of a computer.
Posted inOpinion
The Venice Biennale in Pencil Sketches
New York Times visual columnist and famed designer Christoph Niemann is at the 2011 Venice Biennale, documenting his experiencing with the contemporary art festival in a series of sketches.
Posted inOpinion
Checking up on World Trade Center Architecture
Osama Bin Laden is dead, but that doesn’t mean the vestiges of 9/11’s impact on New York City are completely healed. With an infographic, the New York Times checks up on the most visible reminder of the event, the remains of Ground Zero and the construction of new World Trade Center buildings.
Posted inNews
NYT Goes Museums, Hosts Twitter Chat [LIVEBLOG]
In the mood for some museum news? You’re in luck, because the New York Times has more than you could EVER READ. Their annual special “Museums Section” was just published, and we sorted it for you. Check out a selected list of their stories here, plus stay tuned for an NYT Twitter chat this afternoon about museums and social media. [UPDATE] We have a collection of the best tweets from the #nytmuseums conversation in this liveblog.
Posted inOpinion
Hot Links, Upside-Down Christmas Tree Edition
Christmas blues got you down? Have I got the solution for you! Check out a hot fresh batch of links for the lead-up to Christmas and all that other stuff, sure to delight, entertain, educate and amaze. I guarantee there is no Wojnarowicz or Blu content to be found. Above, I’ve switched out Natalie Jeremijenko’s upside-down trees at Mass MoCA for Christmas evergreens. How festive!