The Art21 Blog’s Most-Viewed Posts of 2011

The Art21 Blog continued to grow over 2011, adding five new columns and presenting original writing from a wealth of fantastic contributors. In between all of the publishing, we bid farewell to our founding editor, Kelly Shindler, and welcomed our new editor, Claudine Isé.

Needless to say, the posts featured in this ‘most-viewed’ list only represent a fraction of the writing featured on the Art21 Blog throughout 2011. Please be sure to browse through posts from all of our columnists and contributors via the ‘columns’ category list in the right sidebar, includng the year’s worth of guest blog posts. Be sure to also check out additional writing in the Ideas area of the recently-launched Art21.org.

And with that, we present to you the top 10 most-viewed posts on the Art21 Blog for 2011.

10. Call For Artists: Creative Limitations
Posted on January 11th, 2011

Cooperative Artists’ Trade co-founder Ashley Martin joins the Flash Points conversation on the topic of “influence” by looking at artists’ creative opportunities beyond the artist-gallery relationship.

9. Relational Aesthetics is the New Black: DIY Art School
Posted on January 7th, 2011

Responding to the “What influences art?” Flash Points topic, San Francisco Art Institute student Meredith Carty MacKenzie explores the potentials of alternative art education models.

8. On View Now | Rachel Whiteread: Light Matters
Posted on April 7th, 2011

‘On View Now’ columnist Max Weintraub looks at the cast domestic objects and architectural elements of London-based artist Rachel Whiteread.

7. Letter from London: Being Boring
Posted on February 7th, 2011

‘Letter from London’ columnist Ben Street writes about what makes sculpture “boring,” taking a look at two exhibitions that offer different takes on contemporary sculpture.

6. Memorial Photographs: An Interview with Jason Lazarus
Posted on January 5th, 2011

Chicago-based guest blogger Caroline Picard speaks with photographer Jason Lazarus, discussing his path to becoming a photographer as well as some of his recent projects, including his Michael Jackson Memorial Procession.

5. Looking at Los Angeles: Owning Robert Mapplethorpe
Posted on February 10th, 2011

‘Looking at Los Angeles’ columnist Catherine Wagley responds to the Getty Trust’s and Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s joint acquisition of Robert Mapplethorpe’s archives, noting that it’s more than the photographer’s expertise that is being acquired in the process.

4. How Not to Be an Art Hater
Posted on August 16th, 2011

‘Lives and Works in Berlin’ columnist Ali Fitzgerald, during her guest blogging run, works herself out of an art-viewing slump, offering suggestions on how to increase enjoyment in the art-viewing experience.

3. Wangechi Mutu
Posted on February 25th, 2011

Chicago-based curator, writer, and guest blogger Thea Liberty Nichols surveys the work of artist Wangechi Mutu, noting “swirling pools of pleasing colors and curious microcosms of recognizable image fragments in unrecognizable contexts” found in recent work.

2. Looking at Los Angeles | Curators Gone Viral: “Chain Letter” at Shoshana Wayne
Posted on July 28th, 2011

‘Looking at Los Angeles’ columnist Lily Simonson visits the Los Angeles incarnation of the “Chain Letter” exhibition at Shoshana Wayne Gallery in Bergamot Station—a show faciliated by a chain email, featuring works from almost 1,600 artists.

1. How to Explain Sherrie Levine to Your Grandmother
Posted on April 15th, 2011

In a nod to Lernert’s and Sander’s series How To Explain It to My Parents, ‘Lives and Works in Berlin’ columnist Alex Freedman, during her April 2011 guest blogging stint, chats with her grandmother about the work of photographer and appropriation artist, Sherrie Levine.