When we think of propaganda Soviet style, it is usually in the form of mind control through the printed word and public speeches. Pamphlets, fliers and posters, items dropped from planes or pasted onto bus shelters, are the usual vehicles employed for changing the minds of the masses. But in post-Stalin Russia—the Soviet Union—the process of Sovietization was a universal program that touched every … Read the full Story >>
In the quiet, limestone-clad reaches of the Upper East Side, a profound conversation is taking place between the two and the three-dimensional. Matisse: The Pursuit of Harmony, which recently opened at Acquavella Galleries, marks the first solo outing for the French artist in New York City in over five decades. But don't expect a mere survey of the master of color. I … Read the full Story >>
Continuing at Brookfield Place, acclaimed sculptor Jean Shin’s Floating Maze suspended above the grand staircase in the Winter Garden engages its audience in a conversation about plastic waste, dietary choices and environmental stewardship. The installation consists of recyclable green plastic soft drink bottles (above). The Last Straw presents three macro and micro views of plastic waste, featuring different configurations and perspectives of colorful straws … Read the full Story >>
As Lockdown begins to be lifted—here in NYC at least—people are leaving home en masse, with streets so crowded and noisy when I went to the P.O. on Monday it seemed "normal". Now more than ever the urgency of keeping safe is everyone’s task. Artist/creative director Mirko Ilic recently sent info about the Anti-Corona Virus poster he created in conjunction with the Poster House … Read the full Story >>
When is a pigeon not a flying rodent? Hmmm…that’s a tough one for me. But when I read about the new plinth commission for the High Line, it began to make perfect sense. Paris-based Colombian artist Iván Argote told a reporter for Hyperallergic, “As much as you can imagine or see what the reactions of people will be, you will always be surprised, because [creating a … Read the full Story >>
AiPAD The Photography Show | April 23–27 | aipad.com Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan See the preview featured last week in DART Frieze New York | May 7–11 frieze.com/fairs/frieze-new-york Frieze returns to The Shed in May with more than 65 of the world’s leading contemporary art galleries and the acclaimed Focus section led by Lumi Tan The Shed, … Read the full Story >>
In 1963 LIFE Magazine published a photo by Charles Moore of a black man being arrested during a civil rights protest in Birmingham. Howardena Pinell (b. 1943 Philadelphia) proposed a video based on the photo, and others of Civil Rights clashes she saw as a child, to the AIR Gallery, in New York City. The gallery, which is the country’s first female-run, feminist co-op space, … Read the full Story >>
In 1884, Claude Monet was painting along the Mediterranean shore, far from his home in the North, near LeHavre. So much of what he saw—the quality of the sunlight, the character of the vegetation, the changeability of the sky—was new to him, and so unlike what he was accustomed to. He described the challenges of this new visual world in his many letters to … Read the full Story >>
The ongoing interest in photographs of vast and often toxic landscapes can probably be traced to Land and Environmental Art (Phaidon 1998), a book by Brian Wallis and Jeffrey Kastner - whose ideas segued into Ecotopia, the second triennial at the International Center of Photography, in 2006. A new edition of the book will be in stores this Fall. For now, a small … Read the full Story >>
Saturday, October 5, 3pm: Works in Public, Riverside Park North The Art Students League of New York and The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation present Works in Public 2024, a year-round outdoor public art exhibition at Riverside Park in Manhattan. The exhibition features four new site-specific sculptures by League artists: Patricia Espinosa and Malin Abrahamsson [above] in Riverside Park North … Read the full Story >>
The most clicked art world story this week has to be a piece reported by the Guardian and picked up by Hyperallergic, ArtNet, and The Smithsonian among others. People in Brussels suffering from depression, stress or anxiety are now eligible for “museum prescriptions”, free visits with a few friends or family members to discover one or more of Brussels’ cultural institutions. Above: Museum of Fashion and Lace, … Read the full Story >>
With A Boy Named Isamu: A Story of Isamu Noguchi, author and illustrator James Yang has created a window on to what it is to be an artist. In minimalistically rendered spreads that capture the essence of place, with equally minimalistic text, he introduces children to experiences we all share, such as walking on a beach, navigating a crowded outdoor market, exploring a … Read the full Story >>
Photographer Steve James bugs some people. James, who is based in Northampton, UK, was recently named the 2021 Bug Photographer of the Year, but controversy soon erupted online when people began condemning his ethics as a nature photographer. They pointed to a post he shared on Photocrowd in July, in which James described how he keeps his subjects still long enough to create focus-stacked … Read the full Story >>
Beginning in the mid-1950s, the School of Visual Arts [SVA] was in the vanguard of academic institutions in the U.S. to recognize the need for alternative marketing strategies to attract new students. SVA took to the platforms of New York City’s subway with advertising posters that were both thought-provoking and eye-catching, featuring the work of legendary artists like Ivan Chermayeff, Milton Glaser and George … Read the full Story >>
Peggy Roalf: Which came first, the pen or the brush? Daniel Baxter: I've always gravitated towards working with lines, and still do today. When painting, I am in currently in love with dry-brush technique. PR: How did you decide on art as your métier? DB: As a teenager, I was a dreamer by nature, and felt comfortable with the idea of being an artist. But this was a … Read the full Story >>
You can now submit entries for American Photography 37. The deadline is February 5, 2021. As always, the juried competition brings together the best photography of the year, and winners receive exposure and promotion through exclusive online showcases as well as the AP book -- a classic resource for top industry professionals. (Entrants get a big discount on the book.) All entries are seen … Read the full Story >>
Nightfall in the New Mexico desert. A passing photographer notices the full moon with craters defining a face, illuminating the darkness around a lonely church and graveyard in the village of Hernandez. He stops his car and quickly sets up his 8 x 10 camera, exposing a single negative. There is no time for another setup before the light shifts, no time to check … Read the full Story >>
Lynn Saville continues her exploration of the city at night in her third book, Dark City: Urban America at Night. The urban landscape of dusk and dawn offers a world of transitional spaces largely overlooked in daylight. In the spaces between buildings and rivers, behind billboards and highways, alongside warehouses and empty storefronts, Saville captures a strange palette of artificial light whose colors define a mysterious and … Read the full Story >>
Janine Antoni, Nicole Eisenman, Marilyn Minter, Marlene Dumas, Victoria Sambunaris, Carolee Schneemann…these are just a sampling of the artists whose work will be available at auction next Thursday, November 18th, at P.P.O.W Gallery. At previous RHMF events, like the annual Lower East Side Art Crawl (above), women took the lead presenting art to its supporters. The Foundation raises all the money it … Read the full Story >>
Before the 1960s, when Doris Freedman, the city’s first Cultural Affairs Commissioner came along, public art was limited to the obligatory war memorials and a few dedicated heads like Gertrude Stein’s at the New York Public Library. Today, NYC hosts numerous temporary and permanent installments in the city parks, plazas, and esplanades, organized by a diverse roster of civic-minded groups who arrange for … Read the full Story >>
