Books
The Sad Story of the Last Cop on the Moon
In Tom Gauld’s new graphic novel, Mooncop — published by Drawn & Quarterly — the age of the moon has waxed and waned.
Reviews
Art
The Bird-Based Color System that Eventually Became Pantone
WASHINGTON, DC — An effort to describe the diversity of birds led to one of the first modern color systems.
Books
The Chairs that Architects Have Designed
Before he designed the soaring 1962 TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport, Eero Saarinen experimented with gravity-defying design through his one-legged white and red Tulip chair.
Art
Tracking the Beat Generation Across Three Continents
PARIS — Though almost entirely lacking a female presence — artist Jay DeFeo and poet Diane Di Prima being the exceptions that prove the rule — the Centre Pompidou’s airily laid out retrospective of the Beat Generation is otherwise flawless.
Art
A Festival in Poland Expands Our Understanding of Noise and Sound
SOKOLOWSKO, Poland — For three years running, Sanatorium of Sound has given hundreds of experimental sound art devotees reason to ascend to a small, mysterious, Polish village, nestled only a short distance from the Czech border.
Art
A Sight at the Museum
Just past the metal detectors at the entrance to the Metropolitan Museum, 11 people cluster together, tablets and smartphones raised in front of their faces, photographing the central information desk and the arches beyond.
Art
A Blimp Floats in a Gallery, Imagining the View from Space
CHICAGO — The Sidney R. Yates gallery in the Chicago Cultural Center is a large space on the top floor of a neoclassical-style building on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue.
Performance
A Play Caught Between the Lies and Truth of Storytelling
When I first encounter the artist Lin Bo discussing his work “The Cage,” there is something about him that doesn’t sit quite right with me.
Art
Camille Henrot's Melancholic Mondays
NAPLES, Italy — “I don't care if Monday's blue,” sang the Cure. But French artist Camille Henrot seems to care a great deal.
Art
Framing Cindy Sherman Against a Hollywood Backdrop
LOS ANGELES — I have not always been an unalloyed fan of Cindy Sherman.
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.