Art Through Time

Are you looking to make more thematic connections as a way to prepare for the exam? Have a look at Art Through Time. It's a series of videos--each about 30 minutes--focused on certain themes.

Gettin' Real in Big D

Plenty of local-ish commentators have had a lot to say lately about the thriving art scene in Dallas. But now it's serious: The Economist has picked up the story, focusing on the Dallas Art Fair. It's glossy, expensive, and has cosmopolitan ambitions--perfect for Dallas.

Speaking of Dallas, remember to find time in May to go up and see the Cindy Sherman show. They also have a big Chagall show! You're not doing anything else of importance in May, are you?

Kehinde Wiley

I didn't expect to ever say this, but please read this article in GQ.

Why can't you go to the Louvre this week?

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Pickpockets. The museum, which attracts tens of thousands of visitors a day, closed yesterday when a number of staff walked out to protest the proliferation of pickpockets in the museum. They don't know when they'll reopen.

A Jew speaks, both in and out of the box

Here is a follow-up to the "The Whole Truth" exhibit in Germany that has received so much attention. The writer is a journalist who, after visiting the show, signed up to be the "Jew in a Box" for an hour.

A museum's day off

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What happens at a museum on the day it's closed? This piece from NPR about Versailles gives us some clues.

Breaking News

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.