Erin L. Thompson – Hyperallergic https://hyperallergic.com/author/erin-l-thompson/ Sensitive to Art & its Discontents Mon, 16 Oct 2023 14:49:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://hyperallergic-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/11/cropped-Hyperallergic-favicon-100x100.png Erin L. Thompson – Hyperallergic https://hyperallergic.com/author/erin-l-thompson/ 32 32 118955609 A New York Museum’s House of Bones https://hyperallergic.com/850350/a-new-york-museums-house-of-bones/ https://hyperallergic.com/850350/a-new-york-museums-house-of-bones/#respond Sun, 15 Oct 2023 16:00:00 +0000 https://hyperallergic.com/?p=850350 The American Museum of Natural History holds 12,000 bodies — but they don’t want you to know whose.]]>

The American Museum of Natural History holds 12,000 bodies — but they don’t want you to know whose.

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Avoid Rome’s Tourist Crowds With These Alternative Art History Gems https://hyperallergic.com/845683/avoid-rome-tourist-crowds-with-these-alternative-art-history-gems/ https://hyperallergic.com/845683/avoid-rome-tourist-crowds-with-these-alternative-art-history-gems/#comments Wed, 20 Sep 2023 20:43:19 +0000 https://hyperallergic.com/?p=845683 If you’re planning a visit to Rome, write down your list of can’t-miss sites. Then, go to these ones instead. ]]>

If you’re planning a visit to Rome, write down your list of can’t-miss sites. Then, go to these ones instead.

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An Art Thief’s Tale of Love and Seduction https://hyperallergic.com/837144/art-thief-stephane-breitwieser-tale-of-love-and-seduction-michael-finkel/ https://hyperallergic.com/837144/art-thief-stephane-breitwieser-tale-of-love-and-seduction-michael-finkel/#comments Mon, 14 Aug 2023 21:31:26 +0000 https://hyperallergic.com/?p=837144 Stéphane Breitwieser stole several billion dollars worth of art from more than 150 museums before he was caught in 2001.]]>

Stéphane Breitwieser stole several billion dollars worth of art from more than 150 museums before he was caught in 2001.

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Tsherin Sherpa’s “Corrupted” Thangka Art https://hyperallergic.com/821401/tsherin-sherpa-corrupted-thangka-art/ Thu, 11 May 2023 20:06:57 +0000 https://hyperallergic.com/?p=821401 In Sherpa's art, Tibet and California, thangka and pop art, Buddha and Mickey Mouse mingle and morph to create a new visual language.]]>

In Sherpa's art, Tibet and California, thangka and pop art, Buddha and Mickey Mouse mingle and morph to create a new visual language.

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The Stories of Art History’s Detectives https://hyperallergic.com/815331/stories-of-art-history-detectives-worldly-possessions-lynley-mcalpine/ Mon, 17 Apr 2023 20:27:00 +0000 https://hyperallergic.com/?p=815331 The provenance researcher must be a detective, figuring out alternative ways to get at information that major participants in the trade are often unwilling to disclose.]]>

The provenance researcher must be a detective, figuring out alternative ways to get at information that major participants in the trade are often unwilling to disclose.

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Guantánamo’s Artists Fight for Beauty https://hyperallergic.com/804073/guantanamo-artists-fight-for-beauty-remaking-the-exceptional/ Tue, 28 Feb 2023 20:55:34 +0000 https://hyperallergic.com/?p=804073 Remaking the Exceptional allows us to feel the furious joy that emanates from those who have saved their own lives with activism and art.]]>

Remaking the Exceptional allows us to feel the furious joy that emanates from those who have saved their own lives with activism and art.

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Sex Tourism With Statues https://hyperallergic.com/788300/sex-tourism-with-statues/ https://hyperallergic.com/788300/sex-tourism-with-statues/#comments Tue, 03 Jan 2023 22:51:05 +0000 https://hyperallergic.com/?p=788300 Buddhist Art of Tibet: In Milarepa's Footsteps is a cringe-worthy display of “spiritual colonialism.”]]>

Buddhist Art of Tibet: In Milarepa's Footsteps is a cringe-worthy display of “spiritual colonialism.”

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Artists’ Doomed, Inspiring Resistance to Hitler https://hyperallergic.com/778814/red-orchestra-artists-inspiring-resistance-to-hitler/ https://hyperallergic.com/778814/red-orchestra-artists-inspiring-resistance-to-hitler/#comments Fri, 18 Nov 2022 21:01:00 +0000 https://hyperallergic.com/?p=778814 The stories of the Red Orchestra show the power of joy, creativity, and love in the fight against the compliance, fear, and silence upon which fascism still depends.]]>

The stories of the Red Orchestra show the power of joy, creativity, and love in the fight against the compliance, fear, and silence upon which fascism still depends.

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Cambodia’s Stolen Treasures Must Be Returned to Where They Belong  https://hyperallergic.com/758396/cambodias-stolen-treasures-must-be-returned-to-where-they-belong/ https://hyperallergic.com/758396/cambodias-stolen-treasures-must-be-returned-to-where-they-belong/#comments Tue, 06 Sep 2022 21:15:18 +0000 https://hyperallergic.com/?p=758396 And no, Cambodia doesn't need the Metropolitan Museum's help in preserving its cultural heritage.]]>

And no, Cambodia doesn't need the Metropolitan Museum's help in preserving its cultural heritage.

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The Surprising Mix of Tradition and Innovation in Nepal’s Contemporary Art Scene https://hyperallergic.com/721571/tradition-and-innovation-in-nepals-contemporary-art-scene/ Sat, 02 Apr 2022 04:08:00 +0000 https://hyperallergic.com/?p=721571 The work of many of Nepal's contemporary artists suggests that the distinctions between labels like ancient and modern, or foreign and Nepali, will blur if you shift your point of view.]]>

The work of many of Nepal's contemporary artists suggests that the distinctions between labels like ancient and modern, or foreign and Nepali, will blur if you shift your point of view.

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Surrounded by Wealth, an Artist’s Comment on Education Loses Its Edge https://hyperallergic.com/716447/hugh-hayden-brier-patch-review/ https://hyperallergic.com/716447/hugh-hayden-brier-patch-review/#comments Sun, 20 Mar 2022 20:07:00 +0000 https://hyperallergic.com/?p=716447 Within the well-patrolled boundaries of Madison Square Park, it’s hard not to see Hugh Hayden's Brier Patch as just another amenity, offering a pleasant opportunity for virtue signaling. ]]>

Within the well-patrolled boundaries of Madison Square Park, it’s hard not to see Hugh Hayden's Brier Patch as just another amenity, offering a pleasant opportunity for virtue signaling.

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How the Met Museum Justifies Looting https://hyperallergic.com/701569/how-the-met-museum-justifies-looting/ https://hyperallergic.com/701569/how-the-met-museum-justifies-looting/#comments Wed, 22 Dec 2021 19:05:00 +0000 https://hyperallergic.com/?p=701569 The African Origins exhibition ignores the fact that approximately 160 objects from Benin are held by the museum under ongoing demands for their repatriation. ]]>

The African Origins exhibition ignores the fact that approximately 160 objects from Benin are held by the museum under ongoing demands for their repatriation.

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Returned to Nepal by the FBI, a Sculpture Becomes a God Again https://hyperallergic.com/700760/returned-to-nepal-by-the-fbi-a-sculpture-becomes-a-god-again/ Fri, 17 Dec 2021 21:46:32 +0000 https://hyperallergic.com/?p=700760 Last week, I flew to Nepal and witnessed a ceremony to replace a looted Lakshmi-Narayan sculpture to its original location.]]>

Last week, I flew to Nepal and witnessed a ceremony to replace a looted Lakshmi-Narayan sculpture to its original location.

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What Do We Do with the Work of Immoral Artists? https://hyperallergic.com/692727/what-do-we-do-with-the-work-of-immoral-artists/ https://hyperallergic.com/692727/what-do-we-do-with-the-work-of-immoral-artists/#comments Mon, 15 Nov 2021 21:54:35 +0000 https://hyperallergic.com/?p=692727 Where should we “draw the line” between sacrificing great art and supporting artists who are predators and bigots?]]>

Where should we “draw the line” between sacrificing great art and supporting artists who are predators and bigots?

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Decolonizing the (Sitcom) Museum https://hyperallergic.com/677292/decolonizing-the-sitcom-museum/ Sun, 19 Sep 2021 04:04:00 +0000 https://hyperallergic.com/?p=677292 What does Rutherford Falls, a new TV series that prominently features two small town museums, tell us about the way people see the contentious stories on display in history and art institutions? ]]>

What does Rutherford Falls, a new TV series that prominently features two small town museums, tell us about the way people see the contentious stories on display in history and art institutions?

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The Lax Compliance of Museums with AAM Guidelines for Ancient Art https://hyperallergic.com/631776/the-lax-compliance-of-museums-with-aam-guidelines-for-ancient-art/ https://hyperallergic.com/631776/the-lax-compliance-of-museums-with-aam-guidelines-for-ancient-art/#comments Sun, 28 Mar 2021 21:07:00 +0000 https://hyperallergic.com/?p=631776 The most astounding result of our research was discovering how few museums had complied with the American Alliance of Museums' simplest requirement: having a public collections policy.]]>

The most astounding result of our research was discovering how few museums had complied with the American Alliance of Museums' simplest requirement: having a public collections policy.

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Stumbling Towards Repatriation https://hyperallergic.com/628195/stumbling-towards-repatriation/ Thu, 11 Mar 2021 22:25:36 +0000 https://hyperallergic.com/?p=628195 We need to make it clear to our museums that we do not want to walk around in galleries of stolen artworks.]]>

We need to make it clear to our museums that we do not want to walk around in galleries of stolen artworks.

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Sorry/Not Sorry: How Viewers Express Judgment by Touching the Art https://hyperallergic.com/584596/sorry-not-sorry-how-viewers-express-judgment-by-touching-the-art/ https://hyperallergic.com/584596/sorry-not-sorry-how-viewers-express-judgment-by-touching-the-art/#comments Sun, 30 Aug 2020 04:07:42 +0000 https://hyperallergic.com/?p=584596 Anyone who deliberately damages art in a museum is regarded as under a delusion, either due to mental illness or a failure to perceive the nature of what they’re doing. But in reality, people touch art all of the time.]]>

Anyone who deliberately damages art in a museum is regarded as under a delusion, either due to mental illness or a failure to perceive the nature of what they’re doing. But in reality, people touch art all of the time.

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A Benin Bronze With Fishy Provenance Goes to Auction https://hyperallergic.com/573457/fishy-provenance-benin-bronze-christies/ https://hyperallergic.com/573457/fishy-provenance-benin-bronze-christies/#comments Fri, 26 Jun 2020 17:37:03 +0000 https://hyperallergic.com/?p=573457 While conversations about historic monuments ignite public debate, a small sculpture which was likely looted heads to auction at Christie’s Paris. ]]>

While conversations about historic monuments ignite public debate, a small sculpture which was likely looted heads to auction at Christie’s Paris.

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The True Cost of Museum Fakes https://hyperallergic.com/549408/the-true-cost-of-museum-fakes/ https://hyperallergic.com/549408/the-true-cost-of-museum-fakes/#comments Thu, 26 Mar 2020 11:00:31 +0000 https://hyperallergic.com/?p=549408 The Museum of the Bible recently admitted all of its Dead Sea Scroll fragments are forgeries. But when fake antiquities are donated to museums, taxpayers lose.]]>

The Museum of the Bible recently admitted all of its Dead Sea Scroll fragments are forgeries. But when fake antiquities are donated to museums, taxpayers lose.

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Stolen Deities Resurface in a Dallas Museum https://hyperallergic.com/530848/stolen-deities-resurface-in-a-dallas-museum/ https://hyperallergic.com/530848/stolen-deities-resurface-in-a-dallas-museum/#comments Fri, 24 Jan 2020 14:00:48 +0000 https://hyperallergic.com/?p=530848 A blogger’s shaky snapshots from an exhibition opening reveal where a Lakshmi-Narayana statue stolen from a temple in Kathmandu in 1984 had ended up: the Dallas Museum of Art.]]>

A blogger’s shaky snapshots from an exhibition opening reveal where a Lakshmi-Narayana statue stolen from a temple in Kathmandu in 1984 had ended up: the Dallas Museum of Art.

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Museums Should Consider Why They’ve Become Targets of Attack and Protest https://hyperallergic.com/446082/museum-protests-attacks-op-ed/ https://hyperallergic.com/446082/museum-protests-attacks-op-ed/#comments Mon, 11 Jun 2018 12:52:56 +0000 https://hyperallergic.com/?p=446082 Visitors at the British Museum (photo by Mark Ramsay, via Flickr)A terror plot targeting the British Museum was recently thwarted, but the reasons why it became a target in the first place go far beyond the current political climate.]]> Visitors at the British Museum (photo by Mark Ramsay, via Flickr)

A terror plot targeting the British Museum was recently thwarted, but the reasons why it became a target in the first place go far beyond the current political climate.

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