Film
The Velvet Underground Brings the New York of the ’60s Back to Life
With dense split-screen use of period artifacts and a killer Velvets soundtrack, Todd Haynes’s documentary is a loving tribute to his favorite band.
Reviews
Books
Sexism and Colonialism Intertwine in the Story of a Toxic Relationship
In Paul, Daisy Lafarge delicately unpacks the power plays and mind games of a toxic relationship, with an emphasis on society’s — and art’s — silencing of women.
Art
The Fascinating Contradictions of Paul Thek
Thek rebelled against his early virtuosity, and chafed against the aspects of religion that rejected his gayness, while remaining a devout Catholic.
Art
Maria Guzmán Capron’s Deliciously Tactile Fabric Figures, or “Hot Aliens”
Capron says her creations reflect herself and her immigrant, Latinx community.
Books
The Little-Seen World of Demolition Derbies
The shirtless, sweating men splayed across and against car hoods and dashboards in Derby convey a sense of bonded brotherhood and physical intimacy.
Film
Good Madam Is a South African Horror Film Haunted by Whiteness
Jenna Cato Bass’s film is a reckoning both for her and all the clueless white children who never thought about the Black women who served them.
Art
Joan Mitchell, a Brilliant Painter and Contrarian at Heart
If painting was Mitchell’s sickness, it was also her salvation.
Art
An Artist's Embroideries Reflect the Complexity and Interconnectedness of Queer New York
What struck me most about LJ Robert's Carry You With Me is the way in which it depicts some of the complexity of queer New York.
Art
Faced With a Complex Sense of Home, Jagdeep Raina Turns to Art
“I’ve always felt that home is a fraught place which is constantly going through ruptures,” says Jagdeep Raina.
Film
New Anthony Fauci Documentary Shows Why His Hero Image Is Flawed
Fauci is not quite a hagiography of “America’s doctor,” but it comes close. It ignores or twists the flaws in his responses to both AIDS and COVID-19.
Art
An Exhibition That Helps Us Rethink Our Relationship to Facebook
The main aim of the show is to offer a creative, clever perspective on the reasons behind the alienated and addicted relationship we sustain with social media platforms.
Books
A History of Motherhood Through Design
Designing Motherhood includes over 100 objects spanning medical devices to depictions of laboring women in films.