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Overheard just a few moments ago in my advocacy class:

"You know what post-modern sculpture is? Anything! There were artists who went to the restroom, pulled the toilet out, and then took it to a museum and called it art."

1. I assume he's referring to "Fountain."
2. Duchamp did not pull the toilet out of a restroom--he purchased it at a plumbing supply store.
3. I don't usually argue arbitrary classifications, but 1917 is probably a little early for "post-modern." I would stick with "modern."

When is Nazi art not Nazi art?

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I'd never heard of Charles Krafft until this week, but his case is very interesting. Apparently people have shown and collected his work, including porcelain assault rifles and perfume bottles with Hitler stoppers, for their critical and ironic qualities. And now they're quickly pulling the work off walls as it's finally become clear that he is actually a Holocaust denier and white supremacist. The case makes for some weird stories and difficult questions about irony, artists' intentions, and the conundrum of identity and "identity."

Tilda Swinton sleeps at MoMA

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There are a number of actors whom I've hyperbolic praised, saying something to the effect of "I'd even watch ________ just sit for hours without doing anything." Tilda Swinton is one of those actors, and I missed my chance.

She--without any previous announcement or publicity--performed her piece The Maybe at the Museum of Modern Art this weekend. The performance piece requires her to spend about eight hours in a transparent box for viewers. She'll perform the piece again at MoMA, but they won't say when.

Warhol's time capsules

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I followed through on looking at Warhol's Time Capsules for a little bit this morning. There were 612 of them in all.

Here is the NPR story from 2004 that introduced me to the boxes.

Here on the Andy Warhol Museum web site, they have a brief introduction and an interactive inventory of one of the boxes, number 21.

And here is the ongoing Time Capsule Blog.

Play around with it and let me know what you think.

Manet's model

In The Smart Set, James Polchin writes about Victorine Meurent. You know her as Olympia. And the naked woman in Luncheon on the Grass. And the compelling woman who looks back at the viewer in a lot of Manet's painting.

Big Air Package

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Big Air Package, an installation from Christo, opened this week in Germany. It's an inflatable dome, made of 20,000 square meters of fabric, that fills up the large exhibition space it was made for. Viewers enter through airlocks and then move around inside the light-filled dome.

More here and here.

Cindy Sherman in Dallas

Forget about that road trip to New York. The Cindy Sherman retrospective that was at the Museum of Modern Art is about to open at the Dallas Museum of Art. It goes away June 9, so you should consider going up to Dallas during Spring Break rather than waiting for the summer. Do everything you reasonably can to make sure you see this exhibit.

Perspectives 181

Last night I went to the opening for Perspectives 181: Human Nature, the CAMH's biannual show of art by Houston-area teens. It's a strong show, and you should visit.

Me and Evan at the opening

For me most of the standouts were the photographic works. Carnegie's own Evan Coleman has a large and beautiful print in the show, and there are also cool digital photos from Miranda Jankovic, Chantal Bondoo, Melinda Flores, and Claire Dorfman (I have no idea who these others are, except that they're apparently Houston-area teans).