PS1
Posted inArt

Making Sense of Trauma Through Art

by Brendan S. Carroll

To commemorate the 10th anniversary, MoMA PS1 organized a group exhibition, titled September 11, now on view to January 9, 2012. Curator Peter Eleey has brought together more than 70 works by 41 artists — many made prior to 9/11 — to investigate the attacks’ enduring resonance.

Avoiding sensational images of the attack, as well as art made directly in response, the exhibition offers an entry point by which to contemplate the tragic event and its after effects and to look at the ways it has changed how we see and experience the world in its wake.

Posted inBooks

Going Through the Stacks at the 2011 New York Art Book Fair

by Brendan S. Carroll

Now in its sixth year, the New York Art Book Fair, which takes place at MoMA’s hipper sister in Queens, PS1, from September 30 to October 2, features more than 200 exhibitors from Ireland to South Korea. Presented by Printed Matter, the fair is the world’s premier event for artists’ books, contemporary art catalogues and monographs, art periodicals and artist ‘zines. Exhibitors include international presses, booksellers, antiquarian dealers, artists and independent publishers from around the world. As a person susceptible to panic attacks, it is sensory overload city.

Posted inArt

Franco Fatigue

by Howard Hurst

Saturday, August 6, marked the opening of James Franco’s latest venture into the art world. High/Low Rob Lowe opened at Terence Koh’s Asia Song Society on Canal Street, but closed indefinitely the day after opening. We know many of you have been suffering from Franco fatigue. Thoughts are definitely mixed about the actor’s rise in the commercial gallery world. Is he the real deal or just an over privileged famous guy? Honestly, he seems genuine, but that doesn’t mean he deserves the coverage he has gotten. Whatever you think, this whole Franco art thing doesn’t seem to be going away.

Posted inOpinion

Hyperallergic TV’s Reactor Podcast: Discussing PS1’s “Greater New York”

Avatar photo by Hyperallergic

Today, we are launching our first Reactor podcast with a critical discussion of PS1’s Greater New York 2010 exhibition. Hosted by Hyperallergic editor Hrag Vartanian, the podcast features Paddy Johnson of Art Fag City, artist/critic William Powhida, as well as, Liza Eliano of Art Fag City, Holly Gover of Hyperallergic, and Warren King, who is currently interning with Powhida.

Posted inArt

Playing the Game at PS1’s Pole Dance

by Ian Epstein

We perceive architecture, Walter Benjamin thought, in two ways: optical and tactile. There’s a progression over time in our optical perception of something that develops from looking at something into contemplating it. Black scratches to letters to a sign to an idea. But Benjamin didn’t think there was a tactile analog to contemplation when it came to perceiving something through touch.

Posted inArt

Pterodactyls Take Flight: David Altmejd & Stephen Holding

by Daniel Larkin

Daniel Larkin goes looking for pterodactyls in some recent art exhibitions. He writes: “Some artists have discovered that this flying reptile have some real cross-over potential. At first, this sounds like an awfully kitschy idea, but when this airborne creature is refracted, distilled, and boiled down into a raw winged shape, it really sings rather than squawks.”

Posted inOpinion

Why You Should Always Caption Your Photos & Videos Properly

Avatar photo by Hrag Vartanian

Online we encounter more information than ever, but we also lose a hell of a lot. On May 3, the blog WeLoveViral posted a photos and a video titled “Swimming Pool Illusion.” The YouTube video embedded in the post is titled “Amazing Japanese Fake Pool” and has been viewed (as of today) 6,211,210 times!

The problem is that the pool is question is neither a pool, nor Japanese. In fact, it is an artwork by Argentinean artist Leandro Erlich titled “Swimming Pool” (2008).