Books
The Bookish Queer: Locating Queer Literature, Then and Now
How did queer writers and bookish types find queer content in the past and how they do it today, when so many of the past networks would appear to have dispersed?
Reviews
Art
Social Media at the Helm of Performance on Governors Island
On a muggy Saturday afternoon, a crowd of modern dancers in tie-dye shirts, clown-glam costume wearers, bemused children, art-aware observers, and curious members of the general public gathered on the parade ground of Governors Island. As the assembled mob grew, a tweet was read aloud, a command: “P
Art
The Impossible Desire of the Encyclopedic Palace
VENICE — After all of the seeing and being seen, it was a huge relief to enter Il Palazzo Enciclopedico (The Encyclopedic Palace), curated by Massimiliano Gioni, the youngest artistic director of La Biennale in 110 years. This museum-like exhibition featuring work from over 150 artists from 38 count
Books
Your Worst Fear and Your Best Fantasy Traced Through Art History
Holding a sign that reads "I am your worst fear, I am your best fantasy," a photograph of a proud and defiant woman at a gay liberation march in the 1970s opens Phaidon's newly published Art & Queer Culture, illustrating the dual visions of queer identity by the field of art history.
Art
George Sugarman’s Unrecognized Greatness
I am tired of critics characterizing George Sugarman (1912–1999) — whose work was either overlooked or marginalized during his lifetime — as an idiosyncratic sculptor. By labeling him in this way, they are able to suggest that the neglect was partially his own doing, and to imply that he wasn’t inte
Art
Why Jeff Koons Made Michael Jackson White
I still remember the ripples of titillation — occasionally marked by muffled, satisfied guffaws — that spread predictably through the art world when Jeff Koons first exhibited his shiny white and gold porcelain sculpture, “Michael Jackson and Bubbles” (1988) at Sonnabend in 1989. The sculpture was p
Books
Reading the "Nothings that Are": Craig Dworkin's "No Medium"
“In No Medium Craig Dworkin looks at works that are blank, erased, clear, or silent … point[ing] to a new understanding of media.” So goes the back cover copy of the author’s new book, which was released in March by MIT Press. This paratextual statement, while certainly catchy, is a bit misleading r
Art
Wishing Upon a Star: Dan Colen’s Escapist Fantasies
The spirits that I called at Oko is Dan Colen’s first solo exhibition in New York City since his disastrous Gagosian show in 2010.
Art
Is Neon the New Black?
On the evening of May 10th, Greenpoint's art spaces were abuzz. It was the first Friday night when everyone agreed to stay open late, a coming of age moment for the district.
Books
Etched Oddities and a Wandering Skull
The technique of etching has given many a brooding artist a shadowy medium for their art, and while the time-consuming mode of creation has fallen out of mainstream popularity, Moroccan artist Érik Desmazières continues to use etching almost exquisitely in his work.
Art
The Sensory Worlds of Memory
TORONTO — Lost in the Memory Palace sticks with you long after you leave the museum. It crawls under your skin and creeps into your head. Don’t be surprised if it even starts popping up in your dreams.
Art
A New Documentary Casts the Barkeep as Artist
CINCINNATI — Some say bartenders are artists for the way they slowly pour their homemade grenadine into a glass creating layers of alternating colors. Others insist they’re craftsmen and craftswomen; choosing the label of "mixologist" in recognition of their recipe skills.