Art
The Bold, Blessed Paintings of a Sharecropper’s Daughter
An exhibition showcases the graphically powerful work of Mary T. Smith — a self-taught artist from Mississippi — in a rare, in-depth survey.
Review
Art
A History of Writing, from Hieroglyphs to Squiggles
An exhibition at the British Library powerfully delves into the personal and political complexities of writing, driving home that it's not only one of humanity’s greatest inventions, but born out of the strongest human motivations.
Film
How a '70s Anthropological Experiment Turned into the "Sex Raft"
In Marcus Lindeen's documentary The Raft, the subjects of the disastrous study reenact its strange events.
Art
A Show About Stonewall's Legacy Falters on Inclusion
While impressive in its scope and engagement with the era’s tensions, Art After Stonewall fails to adequately represent the roles of people of color, trans folks, and folks with disabilities.
Film
The Woman Who Recorded Decades of TV News on 70,000 VHS Tapes
The documentary Recorder explores the life and work of Marion Stokes, who amassed the world's largest independent TV archive without anyone noticing.
Art
Gandhi Is the Central Protagonist at the Indian National Pavilion in Venice
Our Time for a Future Caring primarily brings together the work of eight artists, from different generations, who have reflected on the Gandhian legacy of decolonization.
Film
A Cuban Filmmaker's Brutal Satire of Religion and Colonialism
Tomás Gutiérrez Alea’s The Last Supper plays as part of Film Forum's ongoing series The Hour of Liberation: Decolonizing Cinema, 1966-1981, which presents both classic and overlooked anti-imperialist films.
Books
An Art Historian’s Ode to His Mentors, Including Leo Steinberg and Beatrice Wood
Francis M. Naumann's Mentors is an accessible and richly detailed celebration of intense cross-generational exchanges.
Art
Experiencing the Flurry of the Internet in Physical Spaces
In exhibitions at the Vincent Price Art Museum and the Orange County Museum of Art, York Chang explores “fake news” as the foundation of mass media.
Art
A Young Painter Burlesques the Role of Outsider Artist
Mystified as ever by the rise of Josh Smith whose work resembles the efforts of a tipsy van Gogh in an art bar, seeing this show, my inner critic is confronted with mostly disagreeable choices.
Art
Margaret Kilgallen's Unique Mix of Folk, Feminism, and Street Art
Kilgallen presses us to acknowledge our superficial judgements, specifically of women, and compels us all to see more deeply.
Books
A Poet's Exploration of Austerity
Marion Bell explores large ideas—capitalism, queer liberation, radical friendship, and community—in a deeply human and personal way.