Books
The Beauty of Moldy Photos
For most archivists, finding mold among collections represents the beginning of one's worst nightmares.
Review
Art
Marcel Broodthaers's Fraught Relationship with Words
Do words limit our experience of a given artwork?
Art
The Photographed, Collaged, and Painted Muses of Mickalene Thomas
New Jersey-born, Brooklyn-based artist Mickalene Thomas is best known for her richly textured, rhinestone-encrusted paintings of African-American women and bright, collaged interiors. Lesser known is her photography, which she’s long considered a crucial component of her art practice.
Art
The Metropolitan Museum Is Still Very Eurocentric and Conservative
If you thought the Eurocentric gods may have been toppled from their comfortable perches at the top of Mt. Met, you'll be sorely disappointed.
Art
A Gallery Stroll Through Rome
ROME — Mentioning Rome to most people evokes, in no particular order: ancient ruins, stunning palazzi, romantic dinners, and good weather.
Art
From Brooklyn to Russia’s Ural Region, Artists Cross Political and Geographic Borders
Exhibitions generated by independent curators have grown over the past two decades in number and significance.
Performance
A Sultry and Subversive 'Snow White,' with Ball Gags and Pole Dancing
How many times you heard the tale of Snow White? Surely you remember the pole dancing, the wigs made of large birdcages, and the lithe male bodies dusted with gold.
Art
The Bawdy History of Medieval Playing Cards
Playing cards arrived in Europe from Asia sometime in the 14th century, and by 1367 they had their first citywide ban in Bern, Switzerland.
Art
Confronting Homelessness Close to Home, with Help from Martha Rosler
SEATTLE — “Home Prices Bring Smiles, Tears.” “Anti-Homeless Attacks Won’t Solve Problem.” When I saw these headlines running across the Seattle Times and Seattle Weekly newspapers earlier this month, a single sentence flashed through my mind, on repeat: “Housing is a human right.”
Art
Imperialism and Its Discontents at Tate Britain
LONDON — Artist and Empire contains something for everyone, ranging from fierce pride to loathing, as well as everything in between.
Books
Reader’s Diary: Jaimy Gordon’s 'Lord of Misrule'
Jaimy Gordon passed through my field of vision some time in the early 1980s.
Art
More than Meets the Eye
If you see lots of work by different artists, you are going to make your own connections.