The Most Popular Hyperallergic Posts of 2015

After another year full of discontent, we’re ready to put 2015 to bed with this, our final post for the year. We combed our stats to discover what the most popular stories actually were, and we discovered a good mix of news, commentary, reviews, satire, and interviews. In other words, what Hyperallergic is all about.

Thanks for reading and see you in 2016!

#1 Entire First-Year MFA Class Drops Out in Protest at the University of Southern California

by Matt Stromberg on May 15, 2015

The news that MFA students were fighting back and challenging the administration caused waves across the educational and art communities. It felt like the tide was possibly turning away from the increased corporatization of colleges. This story, and many of the follow up stories, were widely read and shared. It was the most popular story. The school recently announced a new direction with a sponsored post.

#2 Newly Discovered Photo Offers a Glimpse of van Gogh, Gauguin, and Other Drunk Artists

by Allison Meier on June 19, 2015

People just love unexpected images of artists. They’re fun, they’re quirky, and they remind us to take these people off their pedestals sometimes.

This one was particularly great because they are doing something most of us like to do, namely kickback and hang out with friends.

#3 What Happens When You Try to Photoshop Money

by Jillian Steinhauer on April 2, 2015

Canada’s Spocking phenomenon inspired this post since the author tried to photoshop an image of a Canadian $5 bill and realized it isn’t as easy as many people may think. Turns out you can’t even load the image into Photoshop most of the time. No surprise than that people prefer to “adjust” their currency notes IRL.

#4 What to Make of the Village Voice’s Offensive Kehinde Wiley Review?

by Jillian Steinhauer on March 13, 2015

If you’re looking for something to rightfully get outraged about this year, then you should look at Jessica Dawson’s startlingly homophobic and racist review of the Kehinde Wiley show at the Brooklyn Museum. Why the Village Voice published this is a puzzle as it is truly one of the most bizarre and poor excuses for art criticism we’ve read in a very long time. Just in case you forgot, Dawson wrote: “In what world is a Yale-minted artist who lures young men into his studio with the promise of power and glamour not predatory?” #SMH

#5 Boston Museum Opens Time Capsule Left by Paul Revere

by Laura C. Mallonee on January 7, 2015

In 1795, Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and Colonel William Scollay decided to seal a time capsule beneath the granite cornerstone of the Massachusetts State House. They filled a box with objects that were then culturally important — mostly coins, newspapers, and business cards. Not exactly riveting stuff, but a source of pride for citizens of the newly created republic nonetheless: the lead capsule was drawn to a grand internment ceremony by a team of 15 white horses and given a 15-gun salute. On January 6, it was opened and everyone couldn’t wait to see what was inside.

#6 Inside New York’s Most Beautiful Subway Station, Abandoned Since 1945

by Allison Meier on December 17, 2015

It may be an open secret, but the most beautiful subway station in New York City is locked and inaccessible since the last passengers stepped off its platform on December 31, 1945. The City Hall station was the “jewel in the crown” of the city’s first subway line, which opened October 27, 1904, connecting Lower Manhattan to 145th Street. Our writer got in to take photographs and it was as stunning as you might expect.

#7 A Century After Being Cast into the River Thames, a Celebrated Typeface Reemerges

by Allison Meier on February 17, 2015

Sometime between late 1916 and January 1917, a number of typefaces were dumped into London’s River Thames. Recently, all 2,600 pounds of the lost Doves Press type was recovered by divers. Worn from decades beneath the Hammersmith Bridge, the lead type was still immediately recognizable by its distinctive cut, a sharp update of a Venetian serif. People love the idea of something thought long lost being recovered. We can’t blame them.

#8 ISIS to Exhibit Floating Pavilion of Art Destruction at Venice Biennale

by The Editors on April 1, 2015

This April Fools’ Day post caught fire and — unfortunately — many people thought it was real. Why people wanted to believe that ISIS would exhibit at the Venice Biennale is anyone’s guess, but the whole thing clearly hit a nerve. Maybe it was the Berliners we “quoted” or the art historical background we gave the whole joke that made it convincing. Either way, eventually people got it and it made them laugh (which was our point).

#9 Six Pioneering Feminist Artists Conquer New York

by Maura Reilly on April 30, 2015

This review of eight exhibitions featuring “pioneering” feminist artists (Joyce Kozloff, Martha Wilson, Joan Semmel, Judith Bernstein, Joan Snyder, and Ida Applebroog) created a lot of discussion and piqued people’s interests in the wonderful art (which is always a great thing). The whole thing also raised a lot of important questions that have no easy answer, including: “So, what can we make of the coincidence that there are several exhibitions right now featuring the work of second-generation feminist artists? This isn’t, of course, to say these women haven’t been showing all along — they have, just not at the same time. Are we experiencing a revival of interest in feminist art — or are galleries getting pressured to show more women?”

#10 Banksy’s New Apocalyptic Theme Park Is Designed to Disappoint

by Hrag Vartanian on August 20, 2015

People were charmed by the idea of a dystopic Disneyland, a place that dreams go to flounder and die, rather than grow and flourish. It was typical Banksy, and people couldn’t get enough of it, well most people. Many in the art world, as expected, mostly turned their noses up at it (even if Jenny Holzer, Damien Hirst, and other well-known names took part), but that’s not new. We were also really happy to learn that Colossal’s Christopher Jobson curated the video program at Dismaland.

Other Popular Posts

• “Did Drake’s New Video Get Its Bling from James Turrell’s Light Installations?” by Claire Voon on October 21, 2015
• “Crying for Ana Mendieta at the Carl Andre Retrospective” by Marisa Crawford on March 10, 2015
• “Billboard Art Project Sets Off Terrorism Scare Near US/Mexico Border” by Kemy Lin on February 20, 2015
• “The Queens of Botswana’s Metal Scene” by Carey Dunne on December 18, 2015
• “The Artist Statements of the Old Masters” by John Seed on August 4, 2015
• “What Just Happened? The Björk Experience at MoMA” by E. Wouk Almino, J. Steinhauer, B. Sutton on March 3, 2015
• “Swiss City Grooms for First Nude Public Performance Art Festival” by Claire Voon on July 27, 2015
• “An Art Museum Designed for Taking Selfies” by Laura C. Mallonee on March 16, 2015
• “John Currin’s Silly Porn-Inspired Portraits Somehow Work” by John Seed on March 12, 2015
• “Forty Years of Carolee Schneemann’s ‘Interior Scroll’” by Quinn Moreland on August 29, 2015

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