Newest Features
MARKETWATCH By Micah J. Malone Within the Blogosphere of art, I cannot count the number of times in the last week I’ve read some version of the phrase “the tanking of the economy will refocus the art world on interesting ideas as opposed to sales.” Sentiments like these set up an unnecessary binary between the lofty ideal goals of “proper artist practice” and the gloomy, vulgar workings of commerce. Perhaps more than anything, this column seeks to identify economic motivated works of art and distinguish them from the unfortunate and disingenuous conflict of…
R.H. QUAYTMAN: CHAPTER 12 : IAMB AT MIGUEL ABREU GALLERY By Alan Reid The sly objects in R. H. Quaytman’s demanding show at Miguel Abreu Gallery (Op art images screen-printed on plywood, with few exceptions) provoke retinal and philosophic feedback. The work distorts both the focus of an eye and the identity of the I activating the look, thus straining self-perception in the wake of visual perception. Quaytman pays particular attention to images of lamps, the structures of moiré patterning, and to Hermann grid effects. There are images of rippling patterns. Some of…
“THE WHITE CUBE” By Thomas Marquet #41: Everyone’s always talking about the good old days in the good old ways. Thomas Marquet is a cartoonist, sculptor, and critic, based in Brooklyn, New York, which is an admittedly unoriginal place to be pursuing any of these things. Get The White Cube every day at Tom’s blog.
SEVEN DAYS IN THE ART WORLD BY SARAH THORTON By James Nadeau Noted cultural sociologist Sarah Thorton (she has written on rave culture: Club Cultures: Music, Media, and Subcultural Capital as well as for the BBC, and NPR) has turned her attention and considerable analytical skills towards the art world with her book Seven Days in the Art World. The book consists of seven chapters tackling seven different ” day-in-the-life” case studies in the contemporary art world: a Christie’s auction, art school seminar at Cal Arts, a day at Artforum, a visit to…
OBAMA AND THE ARTS By Matthew Nash During the heat of the election, and now in the interregnum period before the inauguration of President Obama, there has been a lot of talk about the arts and what policies the new president will enact. On a number of levels, this has been an important and much-needed discussion, because it has been a long time since this country had any serious debate about arts policy. Cultural conservatives, having decried a handful of controversial works in the 1980s, had diminished the National Endowment for the Arts…
THE 2008 BOSTON ART AWARDS BALL By Big Red A few weeks ago, critic Greg Cook announced on his blog, The New England Journal of Aesthetic Research, that he was taking nominations for the best art exhibitions of 2008. His move was inspired by the end of the AICA Awards, which Cook discussed with Big RED & Shiny in an episode of Bad At Sports. For the new Boston Art Awards, Cook has moved the selection process from an elite group of critics to the art-loving public of New England, encouraging everyone to…
ON LEMONADE & STORAGE LOFTS: A CONVERSATION WITH DOUGLAS WEATHERSBY By Matthew Nash Douglas Weathersby creates projects that merge labor with art in complex ways, and present the results under the guise of his company, Environmental Services. Weathersby was the winner of the ICA Foster Prize in 2003, and his first commercial solo exhibition is on view at Judi Rotenberg Gallery. I sat down with Doug to talk about art, labor, and lemonade. Matthew Nash: So, you perform labor for hire, and in the process of performing that labor you create an aesthetic…
A REPORT FROM THE PHANTOM ZONE By Steve Aishman A crossword puzzle for some of the Boston Art scene. Click on it and then print it. Most of the answers can be found using Google. The solution will be available on Feb. 1. A crossword puzzle for some of the Boston Art scene. Click on it and then print it. Most of the answers can be found using Google. The solution will be available on February 1st. Steve Aishman is a former resident of the Phantom Zone. Since his escape he has been…