The outcry over Sam Durant’s sculpture at the Walker Art Center has provoked reflections on past memorials for the US–Dakota War, and how Dakota Nation voices continue to be ignored.
Features
Posted inArt
In Search of Bas Jan Ader, the Artist Who Disappeared at Sea
In 1975, artist Bas Jan Ader attempted to sail across the Atlantic. The discovery of his boat 10 months later sparked a fetishistic fascination with his disappearance.
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In the Bronx, a Pop-up Art Show Is a Lightning Rod for Fear of Gentrification
There weren’t many protesters — just seven — but they were loud.
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In Mainstream Museums, Confronting Colonialism While Curating Native American Art
Recent criticism of The Plains Indians: Artists of Earth and Sky, which closed recently at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, sheds light on the many issues that arise when mainstream art museums present Native American art.
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Your Concise Guide to Armory Week 2015
It’s time for the art world’s annual migration to the far, far, far west side of Midtown Manhattan for the Armory Show and its many satellite art fairs.
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AIDS, Art and Activism: Remembering Gran Fury
Long before Facebook and Twitter made getting a message out to a mass audience as simple as a couple of clicks, the art/activist collective known as Gran Fury used a heady combination of bold graphic design, guerrilla dissemination tactics, and art institutional support to communicate the urgency of the AIDS epidemic in light of disastrous government and political inaction.
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On Being in an Olek
“Something I Guarantee You’ve Never Done Before” was the title of the Facebook invitation I got. “Hmm.” I thought. The invitation was somewhat secretive, but the link that was provided confirmed what I suspected. Being somewhat familiar with Olek’s work from some of the press she’s gotten, I knew it would involve spending time in a full-body crocheted costume. A few weeks later after determining I didn’t have anything better to do (and I mean that in the best possible way), I decided to go for it. Crocheting is a very occasional hobby of mine. I’ve always had an affinity for it over knitting, which seems to be the hipper of these crafts, and I wanted to get more familiar with Olek’s work after her last show titled KnittingisforPus*****.
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Lesser-Known Visions of Hispanic Culture in Manhattan
Masterpieces, hidden treasure, absolutely free. These are just some of the accolades of New York’s Hispanic Society, a museum that unfortunately only gets 25,000 visitors a year. With a roster of artists that includes rock star names like El Greco, Velasquez and Goya it’s hard to swallow that the Society gets so few visitors a year. Why is the collection so underrepresented? What in the name of Goya is going on here?
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Taking Five At The Studio Museum in Harlem
This summer the Studio Museum in Harlem is hosting five extensive exhibitions that hold true to its mission and bring both established artists and those in training under the same roof. Packed into the museum’s intimate space on 125th Street, the shows offer a tremendous range of mostly thought-provoking work, with only a few glitches along the way.
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Caring About Peter Nadin
Peter Nadin’s “First Mark” opened at Gavin Brown’s enterprise on June 29th, the first time the artist has exhibited his work in this country since 1992. There’s been massive coverage of Nadin’s “comeback,” but is the show grabbing headlines simply because of Nadin’s backstory and the list of boldfaced names he hung out with in the 1970s and 1980s?
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Planking Around The French Quarter
As geopsychically wondrous as New Orleans is, it’s not exactly the most cutting edge of places; in fact, even in these days of instantaneous communication it sometimes takes ideas and trends a little longer to make their way down here than they do elsewhere. But although we might not be au courant, we do do things down here with a certain kind of panache.
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14 Portraits Of Post-Warhol Fame
Andy Warhol’s death left us wondering how the quintessential Pop artist would have reacted, or shaped, a society that fulfilled his prophesy of universal, albeit short-lived, fame. But aside from wondering what the artist would have thought of Rebecca Black, his passing left a hole in New York City Nightlife. Thomas Kiedrowski’s new book “Andy Warhol’s New York City” and a series of new “screen tests” by Conrad Ventur speak to the nostalgia this generation feels for the days of Superstars and silver clouds.
