Archive

Monthly Archives: December 2008

Flash Points

Found Art: 10 Ways to Die of Electric Shock

by C-Monster | Dec 31, 2008

Flash Points

Found Art: 10 Ways to Die of Electric Shock

by C-Monster | Dec 31, 2008

Disaffected hipster meets his maker. All images courtesy of Bre Pettis. Since we’re talking “shock” here at Art21, I decided to plug the word into Flickr to see what it’d …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

All I Want For Christmas

by Joe Fusaro | Dec 24, 2008

Teaching with Contemporary Art

All I Want For Christmas

by Joe Fusaro | Dec 24, 2008

  All I want for Christmas is to catch up. The break between Christmas and the New Year provides teachers a time for catching up with family and friends, but …

Flash Points

Letter from London

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Art21 Extended Play

Best of the Art21 Blog, 2008 edition

by Kelly Shindler | Dec 23, 2008

Flash Points

Letter from London

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Art21 Extended Play

Best of the Art21 Blog, 2008 edition

by Kelly Shindler | Dec 23, 2008

With our blog’s redesign in February, we hoped to see the site take off this year with a slew of new features. Following are some of our favorites, all of …

Krzysztof Wodiczko to Represent Poland at 2009 Venice Biennale

by Trong Gia Nguyen | Dec 23, 2008

Krzysztof Wodiczko to Represent Poland at 2009 Venice Biennale

by Trong Gia Nguyen | Dec 23, 2008

Krzysztof Wodiczko has been chosen to represent Poland in next year’s Venice Biennale, the 53rd International Art Exhibition.  No stranger to the canals, Wodiczko also participated in the 42nd Venice Biennale in 1986, …

Gay Witches, Part 3

by Elijah Burgher | Dec 23, 2008

Gay Witches, Part 3

by Elijah Burgher | Dec 23, 2008

Continued from “Gay Witches, Part 2”… 3. The work of sound, visual, and performance artists, Massimo & Pierce, aka Black Sun Productions, could easily be discussed in the What’s So …

Flash Points

Crying Wolf

by Catherine Wagley | Dec 23, 2008

Flash Points

Crying Wolf

by Catherine Wagley | Dec 23, 2008

Here’s one of the biggest problem with controversy in contemporary art: once it sparks, people stop really looking. I didn’t see UCLA’s Wight Biennial this year. LA Times critic Christopher …

Gay Witches, Part 2

by Elijah Burgher | Dec 22, 2008

Gay Witches, Part 2

by Elijah Burgher | Dec 22, 2008

As promised, here is a list of some recent artists and projects, about which I am particularly enthusiastic, that explore the occult from a queer perspective. 1. Originally from Toronto, …

Flash Points

Difficulty, Part 2: Bad Feelings

by Jennifer Doyle | Dec 22, 2008

Flash Points

Difficulty, Part 2: Bad Feelings

by Jennifer Doyle | Dec 22, 2008

Chris Ofili, Holy Virgin Mary (1996) I started thinking about the word “difficulty” in relation to controversial art because the things in art which grab me, even shock me, rarely …

Art21 Guest Blog, Year 1

by Kelly Shindler | Dec 22, 2008

Art21 Guest Blog, Year 1

by Kelly Shindler | Dec 22, 2008

2008 marked the inauguration of many things for Art21 and among the most notable was the introduction of our guest blog. Initially every week and now every two, we bring …

Art21 Extended Play

Art21 “Exclusive” Video, Year 1

by Wesley Miller | Dec 19, 2008

Art21 Extended Play

Art21 “Exclusive” Video, Year 1

by Wesley Miller | Dec 19, 2008

What a year it’s been! We’re taking a look back at the 45 Exclusive videos that premiered here on the Art21 Blog, and subsequently on YouTube and  iTunes. We hope …

Flash Points

Difficulty, Part 1: Deceptive Forms of Simplicity

by Jennifer Doyle | Dec 19, 2008

Flash Points

Difficulty, Part 1: Deceptive Forms of Simplicity

by Jennifer Doyle | Dec 19, 2008

What if, instead of talking about what makes an artwork controversial, we focused on what makes an artwork difficult? Difficulty has long functioned as a keyword in poetics and music …

Tropic of Miami

by Trong Gia Nguyen | Dec 18, 2008

Tropic of Miami

by Trong Gia Nguyen | Dec 18, 2008

In addition to the fairs themselves, one of the highlights during Art Basel Miami Beach is the bevy of private collections and foundations. This is the kind of thing that …

Flash Points

I wanna shock.

by C-Monster | Dec 18, 2008

Flash Points

I wanna shock.

by C-Monster | Dec 18, 2008

Dirt Mansion, an installation by Judith Supine at English Kills Gallery in Brooklyn, April, 2008. (Photo by C-M.) In a move that undoubtedly goes against somebody’s better judgment, the respectable …

Rare Charles Atlas screening this Saturday in NYC

by Hrag Vartanian | Dec 18, 2008

Rare Charles Atlas screening this Saturday in NYC

by Hrag Vartanian | Dec 18, 2008

In the late 1990s, Art21 artist Charles Atlas created a series of video collages for Martha@Mother at the infamous and now defunct downtown New York nightclub Mother. The non-advertised but …

Art21 Extended Play

Lari Pittman | Teaching

by Wesley Miller | Dec 18, 2008

Art21 Extended Play

Lari Pittman | Teaching

by Wesley Miller | Dec 18, 2008

EXCLUSIVE: Lari Pittman at his home in Los Angeles; an exhibition of paintings at c/o – Atle Gerhardsen, Berlin. Inspired by commercial advertising, folk art, and decorative traditions, Lari Pittman’s …

Gay Witches, pt. 1

by Elijah Burgher | Dec 17, 2008

Gay Witches, pt. 1

by Elijah Burgher | Dec 17, 2008

The show I most wanted to see this past year but didn’t was AA Bronson‘s School For Young Shamans at John Connelly Presents. It seems to have culminated from, or at least focused, …

Flash Points

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Teaching with Controversial Material: “Bodies”

by Joe Fusaro | Dec 17, 2008

Flash Points

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Teaching with Controversial Material: “Bodies”

by Joe Fusaro | Dec 17, 2008

Illustration by Natasha Russel, Senior, Nyack High School Just a few weeks ago, a colleague and I had the opportunity to take three Advanced Placement Studio Art classes to see …

New guest blogger: Elijah Burgher

by Kelly Shindler | Dec 16, 2008

New guest blogger: Elijah Burgher

by Kelly Shindler | Dec 16, 2008

  Thanks to Merrily Kerr for her slew of fabulous posts covering current NYC gallery and museum shows. Follow her adventures back on her home site here. Up next is …

Flash Points

Top Billing at the Guggenheim

by Trong Gia Nguyen | Dec 16, 2008

Flash Points

Top Billing at the Guggenheim

by Trong Gia Nguyen | Dec 16, 2008

I’ve been reading a few reviews of the Guggenheim’s anyspacewhatsoever exhibition recently, including Merrily Kerr‘s insightful take a few days ago. Coupled with the launch of Flash Points and its …

What’s so great about…

by Merrily Kerr | Dec 14, 2008

What’s so great about…

by Merrily Kerr | Dec 14, 2008

Hello again and goodbye for now, Art21 blogging community. As a guest blogger for the past couple of weeks, I’ve loved sharing thoughts on contemporary art in New York City …

Color into Light

by Nicole J. Caruth | Dec 13, 2008

Color into Light

by Nicole J. Caruth | Dec 13, 2008

Color into Light opened today at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH). The exhibition of approximately 90 works explores the ways that artists have used color as a “liberating force,” from the …

What’s That Thing?

by Nicole J. Caruth | Dec 12, 2008

What’s That Thing?

by Nicole J. Caruth | Dec 12, 2008

Art21 artists Allora & Calzadilla (Season 4) have designed the current issue of The Thing, a quarterly journal that takes the form of an everyday object that somehow incorporates text. Each year, four artists, …

Trenton Doyle Hancock in Chelsea (with video!)

by Merrily Kerr | Dec 12, 2008

Trenton Doyle Hancock in Chelsea (with video!)

by Merrily Kerr | Dec 12, 2008

At last! An update from Art:21 Season 2 artist Trenton Doyle Hancock’s Lower Realm has reached us in Chelsea. Hancock recently opened a new chapter in his ongoing saga of the war …

Visionaire 55 Surprise

by Trong Gia Nguyen | Dec 12, 2008

Visionaire 55 Surprise

by Trong Gia Nguyen | Dec 12, 2008

  Collaborating with the House of Krug, Visionaire has just released its new issue packed with goodies.  Keeping in line with the magazine’s tradition of producing unusual, thematic, and multi-formatted …

Strange Bodies

by Nicole J. Caruth | Dec 12, 2008

Strange Bodies

by Nicole J. Caruth | Dec 12, 2008

Yesterday, the Hirshhorn Museum opened the exhibition Strange Bodies, an installation of more than 40 works highlighting figuration in the Museum’s collection. On view through fall 2009, some pieces will rotate midway through …

Flash Points

Sweet Jesus! Shock, awe, and the mundane

by Marc Mayer | Dec 11, 2008

Flash Points

Sweet Jesus! Shock, awe, and the mundane

by Marc Mayer | Dec 11, 2008

As readers’ comments suggest in the introductory post of Flash Points, contemporary art that engages religion is a hotbed for controversy. James Horn remarks, “I have seen pictures which have …

Art21 Extended Play

Mark Dion | Methodology

by Wesley Miller | Dec 11, 2008

Art21 Extended Play

Mark Dion | Methodology

by Wesley Miller | Dec 11, 2008

EXCLUSIVE: Mark Dion at his Pennsylvania home and studio. Mark Dion’s work examines the ways in which dominant ideologies and public institutions shape our understanding of history, knowledge, and the …

Support Art21 this Holiday Season

by Beth Allen | Dec 10, 2008

Support Art21 this Holiday Season

by Beth Allen | Dec 10, 2008

  Dear Readers, With the holidays upon us and with the economy in a recession, I’ve been thinking a lot about values – about what I am most thankful for …

Merce Cunningham at Dia: Beacon

by Trong Gia Nguyen | Dec 10, 2008

Merce Cunningham at Dia: Beacon

by Trong Gia Nguyen | Dec 10, 2008

This does not help you now, but the Merce Cunningham Dance Company performed this past weekend at Dia: Beacon. The fifth in a series of eight signature, site-specific performances titled …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

The Right Questions

by Joe Fusaro | Dec 10, 2008

Teaching with Contemporary Art

The Right Questions

by Joe Fusaro | Dec 10, 2008

I was reminded today that good teaching involves taking more time to create high quality questions for our students to explore than it does planning the necessary steps to carry …

Raymond Pettibon at Regen Projects (Part II)

by Hrag Vartanian | Dec 10, 2008

Raymond Pettibon at Regen Projects (Part II)

by Hrag Vartanian | Dec 10, 2008

Los Angeles’ Regen Projects II will be hosting a new exhibition by artist Raymond Pettibon (Season 2) from December 13, 2008 to January 24, 2009. Entitled Cutting-Room Floor Show, Pettibon’s …

Flash Points

Blood Work & ‘Art Criminals’

by Jennifer Doyle | Dec 10, 2008

Flash Points

Blood Work & ‘Art Criminals’

by Jennifer Doyle | Dec 10, 2008

I am not sure I would call artists like Jeff Koons, Vanessa Beecroft, Santiago Sierra, or even Kara Walker all that “controversial.” These artists are actually quite popular with curators. …

Perfect Strangers – Man or Beast?

by Merrily Kerr | Dec 9, 2008

Perfect Strangers – Man or Beast?

by Merrily Kerr | Dec 9, 2008

Surely one of the stranger sights in the Chelsea galleries this month is the running coyote pack in the window of Claire Oliver Gallery. In sculptor Kate Clark’s first New …

24th Street Showdown: Cindy Sherman v. Richard Prince

by Merrily Kerr | Dec 9, 2008

24th Street Showdown: Cindy Sherman v. Richard Prince

by Merrily Kerr | Dec 9, 2008

Score a victory for female artists in Chelsea galleries this month. Women are still routinely underrepresented in museum collections (see Jerry Saltz’s debate-sparking tally of MoMA’s permanent collection), but not …

Flash Points

Letter from London

Letter from London: Fifteenth Time Leckey!

by Ben Street | Dec 5, 2008

Flash Points

Letter from London

Letter from London: Fifteenth Time Leckey!

by Ben Street | Dec 5, 2008

On Monday night, the winner of this year’s Turner Prize was announced—the fifteenth since its inception in 1984. The prize itself has become synonymous with a sort of willful controversy, …

Flash Points

Self-consciousness around controversial issues

by Jessica Hamlin | Dec 4, 2008

Flash Points

Self-consciousness around controversial issues

by Jessica Hamlin | Dec 4, 2008

Jenny Holzer, WHITE, 2006. Nichia white LED’s mounted on PCB with aluminum housing, 192 1/4 x 216 5/8 x 5 3/8 inches. Installation view: Cheim & Read, New York. © …