Posted inArt

Why Watching Cat Videos with 10,000 People Matters

A week ago Wednesday night, I sat down in a green metal chair at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand and watched an hour and a half of Internet cat videos on a giant screen alongside 10,000 people. When this little guy licked a vaccum cleaner, 10,000 of us chuckled together; when these sad cats lamented their plight, we all LOLed; when “Lil Bub & Friendz” came on, we cooed over her sweetness.

Posted inOpinion

Museums Get Creative with Their Permanent Collections

Museums are turning more, and with more creativity, to their own permanent collections. Is necessity the mother of invention once again, or is there a real interest among museums to breathe new life into their own holdings? (Or both?) Either way, the public is reaping the benefits. Today viewers have more opportunities to see important works recontextualized by enterprising curators who are themselves reexamining the ways we construct and perceive our art histories.