Opinion
Representation Alone Will Not Save Us
We love representation, the power of signifying, and the incisiveness of well-argued critique, but by themselves, these tools won’t effect structural change.
Opinion
Opinion
Reflecting on a Year of Vulnerability, Discontent, Hiatus, and Refusal
Institutional trauma is real.
Opinion
How'd You Sleep in 2020?
I developed the bad habit of falling asleep at night to reruns of Governor Cuomo's daily COVID briefing performances.
Opinion
I Hope This Essay Finds You Well
Emails started to change toward the end of March: “I hope this message finds you well, despite it all,” wrote people who would otherwise never express any interest in my personal life.
Opinion
The Vicious Cynicism of Installing Noguchi at the White House
While some imagine that Noguchi would be proud to have his work displayed at the White House under these circumstances, I would bet that he is turning in his grave.
Opinion
What Winning a Grant for my Art Writing Meant to Me
The money gave me the chance to prioritize my writing — something that I wish didn’t feel like a privilege but does — and it gave me the encouragement I needed to keep going.
Opinion
Art and Freedom of Expression in Cuba, Throughout the 21st Century
As Cuban authorities continue to target artist Tania Bruguera, Pablo Helguera publishes, for the first time, his 2015 essay on Bruguera’s attempt to stage a public performance on free speech.
Opinion
Effacing Indigenous History One Obelisk at a Time
The gawking fascination with the Utah obelisk taps into larger, fundamental behavioral problems that are holdovers from colonizing the frontier.
Opinion
One Nation Under a Groove: Why We Danced in the Streets
Public protests once filled the same streets now transformed into block parties. Photojournalists captured the impromptu gatherings and spontaneous joy that emerged in the distinct style of each city.
Opinion
Seeing the Bigger Picture on Public Memorials to Women
Recent works, including monuments to Mary Wollstonecraft and Medusa, demonstrate that it’s not that women have a problem with public monuments; it’s that public monuments have a problem with us.
Opinion
The Baltimore Museum Wants to Diversify Its Collection; It Should Be Allowed to
The best way to diversify a museum’s collection is by any means necessary. But an easy way is to sell overvalued art and buy undervalued art. Or at least it would be easy, if the art world establishment permitted it. The art world euphemism for museums selling art is
Opinion
Mourning This Year’s Canceled ArtPrize Event
This year, the excitement of having a shared and immersive three-week-long, city-wide artistic experience with people in a swing city in a swing county in a swing state was missing.