Art
Framing Cindy Sherman Against a Hollywood Backdrop
LOS ANGELES — I have not always been an unalloyed fan of Cindy Sherman.
Review
Books
The Magazine that Unflinchingly Chronicled LA's Nascent Punk Scene
Most people don’t associate Los Angeles with a thriving punk scene.
Art
When Art and Design Got High on Hippie Utopianism
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. — Sometimes, taking a wider view of art history can create a more expansive curatorial vision.
Art
A Survey of Art from the Middle East and North Africa Puts Geometry Before Politics
Taking its title, But a Storm Is Blowing from Paradise, from a painting in the exhibition by the exiled Iranian artist Rokni Haeirzadeh, the third edition of the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative focuses on contemporary art from the Middle East and North Africa.
Books
Skinheads, Patterned Sweaters, and Other Favorites from the NY Art Book Fair
I made the bold decision to venture into the NY Art Book Fair presented by Printed Matter at MoMA PS1. There were throngs of people examining books, chatting about books, buying books, and having books thrust upon them.
Art
The Sculptor Who Merged Cherokee and Art Deco Styles
TULSA, Okla. — Willard Stone's wood-carving style might be described as Art Deco Cherokee, with a distinct, streamlined movement and natural themes that reflect his indigenous heritage.
Books
Reader’s Diary: Denis Johnson's ‘Jesus’ Son’
Reflected in sentences of throbbing beauty, the blind urge to self-destruction becomes a visionary quest
Art
A Different History
The title of the painting I had been looking at, “Adam and Eve and the Goats” (2016), surprised me. I had thought it was retelling of a classical myth, a subject that Kyle Staver has explored with verve and humor before.
Art
A Heap of Broken Bodies
I want to start my review of Endymion: Recent Paintings by Clintel Steed at Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects/SHFAP with a statement the artist made to Jennifer Samet in an interview that appeared on her blog, "Beer with a Painter."
Music
How Do Rock Heroes Sing?: Beyoncé, Rihanna, and the Megastar Vocal Style
The relevant split isn’t rock vs. pop (both are “pop” artists) but expressive vs. functional, always the key distinction in how pop music presents itself.
Books
Testing Form: Novels by Alejandro Zambra and Matías Celedón
Solely in geographical terms, Chilean culture has issued forth from a matrix of constraint. The Argentine writer Ezequiel Martínez Estrada remarked that “Chile is perhaps the most poorly located and poorly shaped nation on the planet.
Books
The Secret Life of Infrastructure: Lynn Saville’s 'Dark City'
Realism is the default mode for street photography — in New York, anyway — so it is impressive when a photographer transcends the genre by embracing the attributes and effects of a different approach.