Writer-in-Residence

On teaching art to scientists

by Liz Sheehan | May 13, 2010

On teaching art to scientists

by Liz Sheehan | May 13, 2010

This July, I’ll be teaching a course I developed on the intersections of contemporary art and science, for Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). My students are advanced high schoolers, attending two-week …

Where Was I?

by Liz Sheehan | May 10, 2010

Where Was I?

by Liz Sheehan | May 10, 2010

One of my ongoing curatorial interests has been the relationship between perception and subject formation — how does what we perceive say about who we are, and vice versa? How …

New guest blogger: Liz K. Sheehan

by Kelly Shindler | May 10, 2010

New guest blogger: Liz K. Sheehan

by Kelly Shindler | May 10, 2010

Thanks to Evan J. Garza for sharing his take on art and the market with us. Up next is Liz K. Sheehan, an independent curator and educator currently living in …

The Immeasurable Distance of Market Value

by Evan J. Garza | May 6, 2010

The Immeasurable Distance of Market Value

by Evan J. Garza | May 6, 2010

Carol Vogel of The New York Times wrote last month that, “Optimism has returned to the multibillion-dollar art market.” She was keen on a 1932 Picasso painting, Nu au Plateau …

Realness: The House of Newsome

by Evan J. Garza | May 3, 2010

Realness: The House of Newsome

by Evan J. Garza | May 3, 2010

My partner and I throw a monthly gay dance night in Cambridge with some DJ friends of ours. For 10 months, most dancing has been reserved for the last hour …

The Intangible as Object

by Evan J. Garza | Apr 26, 2010

The Intangible as Object

by Evan J. Garza | Apr 26, 2010

In September of last year, Kelly Klaasmeyer, the Houston art critic and Glasstire.com editor, made a pretty deft observation. Writing for the Houston Press, she noted that, “Internet content is …

New guest blogger: Evan Garza

by Kelly Shindler | Apr 26, 2010

New guest blogger: Evan Garza

by Kelly Shindler | Apr 26, 2010

Thanks to Nettrice Gaskins for her series of scintillating posts on the wonders and complexities of art and community in Second Life. Follow her adventures back on her own site …
Harbor and Pirats

Art 2.1: Creating on the Social Web

Beyond Boundaries: Art Exhibition & Virtual 3D Worlds

by Nettrice Gaskins | Apr 22, 2010

Art 2.1: Creating on the Social Web

Beyond Boundaries: Art Exhibition & Virtual 3D Worlds

by Nettrice Gaskins | Apr 22, 2010

I like using the word ‘totality’ as in the ‘totality of one’s surroundings.’  Self provides the essentials of our internal existence  and environment is the external display of all that.  …

Art & the Avatar: Ambiguity of Identity in Virtual 3D Worlds

by Nettrice Gaskins | Apr 21, 2010

Art & the Avatar: Ambiguity of Identity in Virtual 3D Worlds

by Nettrice Gaskins | Apr 21, 2010

Self is the essential being of a person.  Art is a mirror image of a person’s identity, circle of influence, and perceived worlds or realities.  Art reflects what we feel, …

The Search

by Baseera Khan | Apr 20, 2010

The Search

by Baseera Khan | Apr 20, 2010

Following is a final post from our previous guest blogger, Baseera Khan. — Ed. [youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0GbatnR9dI] On Saturday March 20, I practically walked my way up from Chelsea to 125th Street. …
Burning Life

Call + Response: Collaborative Art in Virtual 3D Worlds

by Nettrice Gaskins | Apr 19, 2010

Call + Response: Collaborative Art in Virtual 3D Worlds

by Nettrice Gaskins | Apr 19, 2010

Collaborative art as joint production by two or more artists is a typical style among sound, video, and performance artists.  Many artists are changing the concept of art into something …

Immersive & Interactive: Virtual 3D Art Revisited

by Nettrice Gaskins | Apr 16, 2010

Immersive & Interactive: Virtual 3D Art Revisited

by Nettrice Gaskins | Apr 16, 2010

Solkide Auer, Shellina Winkler, and Binary Quandry are Second Life artists who are part of the Pirats Art Network, a partner and major contributor in the Through the Virtual Looking …
Chromutate by Torley

Responsive Art & Evolving Artificiality in Virtual Worlds

by Nettrice Gaskins | Apr 14, 2010

Responsive Art & Evolving Artificiality in Virtual Worlds

by Nettrice Gaskins | Apr 14, 2010

To the uninitiated, virtual 3D worlds may seem like games.  However, game culture often revolves around rules of play.  Artists creating work in virtual 3D worlds are usually trying to …
ménage à trois

Participatory Culture & Social Capital in Virtual Art

by Nettrice Gaskins | Apr 12, 2010

Participatory Culture & Social Capital in Virtual Art

by Nettrice Gaskins | Apr 12, 2010

Art production in virtual 3D worlds usually doesn’t happen in a vacuum.  As a contemporary practice, virtual art can create social capital that provides opportunities for individual and collective action, …

New guest blogger: Nettrice Gaskins

by Kelly Shindler | Apr 12, 2010

New guest blogger: Nettrice Gaskins

by Kelly Shindler | Apr 12, 2010

Thanks to Baseera Khan for her thoughtful posts. Follow her work back on her own site, baseerakhan.com. Up next is Nettrice Gaskins. A regular writer for Art 2.1, Nettrice is …
Longbranck_detail_Michael Ashkin

Remains to be Seen

by Baseera Khan | Apr 9, 2010

Remains to be Seen

by Baseera Khan | Apr 9, 2010

For any fiending New York City art and culture aficionado, renting an automobile and driving up to The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art to see Michael Ashkin’s recently installed …

Momentary Silence

by Baseera Khan | Apr 6, 2010

Momentary Silence

by Baseera Khan | Apr 6, 2010

[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD_EMtw59mY&feature=related] My father told me years ago that he’s only ever seen 7 films in a theater. When asked to list them, he replied, Junglee (a film directed by Subodh …
Snap shot of William Kentridge exhibition now on view at the Museum of Modern Art

Wayward Memories

by Baseera Khan | Apr 3, 2010

Wayward Memories

by Baseera Khan | Apr 3, 2010

The best word to describe my undergraduate experience as a Drawing/Painting major is miseducation — to educate improperly — though what I learned as an artist in school is quite …

A history of what I do, and why I do it

by Baseera Khan | Mar 29, 2010

A history of what I do, and why I do it

by Baseera Khan | Mar 29, 2010

There is a budding tree branch that hangs right in front of my bedroom window. The buds are uniform and pop along the tree branch every two inches. And I …

New guest blogger: Baseera Khan

by Kelly Shindler | Mar 29, 2010

New guest blogger: Baseera Khan

by Kelly Shindler | Mar 29, 2010

Thanks to Ivan Lozano for bringing video and performance deeper into the conversation. Up next is Baseera Khan. Baseera is a practicing artist and curator living and working in Brooklyn, …

Kino-Eye, the video cyborg

by Ivan Lozano | Mar 28, 2010

Kino-Eye, the video cyborg

by Ivan Lozano | Mar 28, 2010

Kool-Aid Man in Second Life (.com) – Tour Promo from visionscraps on Vimeo. I lightly touched on my interest in “posthumanism” and cyborg theory on my last post on John …

John Gerrard’s “Dust Storm (Dalhart, Texas)”

by Ivan Lozano | Mar 21, 2010

John Gerrard’s “Dust Storm (Dalhart, Texas)”

by Ivan Lozano | Mar 21, 2010

This weekend I travelled to Washington D.C. (Arlington VA to be exact) to participate in a panel called WE HAVE DECIDED NOT TO DIE for the Arlington Arts Center‘s amazing …
Marina Abramovic, "The Artist Is Present," performance documentation, 2010, courtesy of the New York Times

Performance Art Realness with a Twist

by Ivan Lozano | Mar 17, 2010

Performance Art Realness with a Twist

by Ivan Lozano | Mar 17, 2010

It starts like this: One snowy night last month, as New Yorkers rushed home in advance of a coming blizzard, more than a hundred artists, scholars and curators crowded into …

New guest blogger: Ivan Lozano

by Kelly Shindler | Mar 15, 2010

New guest blogger: Ivan Lozano

by Kelly Shindler | Mar 15, 2010

Thanks to Kevin McGarry for his excellent guest blogging and coverage of recent art. Up next is Ivan Lozano. Ivan Lozano is a (mostly) video artist currently working on an …

First Impression: Skin Fruit (Part 2)

by Kevin McGarry | Mar 15, 2010

First Impression: Skin Fruit (Part 2)

by Kevin McGarry | Mar 15, 2010

(continued from Part 1) Down the stairs, Nathalie Djurberg’s sexually violent claymations are followed by Cady Noland’s sculptural image of Lee Harvey Oswald at his death. She has him riddled …

Profile: Matthew Savitsky (artist, Philadelphia)

by Kevin McGarry | Mar 13, 2010

Profile: Matthew Savitsky (artist, Philadelphia)

by Kevin McGarry | Mar 13, 2010

The artist Matthew Savitsky has based himself in Philadelphia for the past three years after a lengthy tenure in New York. His practice primarily spans sculpture and painting, working with …

Report: Olav Velthuis at Juicing the Equilibrium (at Independent)

by Kevin McGarry | Mar 12, 2010

Report: Olav Velthuis at Juicing the Equilibrium (at Independent)

by Kevin McGarry | Mar 12, 2010

Amidst the storm of attractions and distractions pummeling New York last week while the art fairs were in town, one event stood out for making an earnest attempt to rehabilitate …

Profile: Nina Schwanse (artist, New Orleans)

by Kevin McGarry | Mar 8, 2010

Profile: Nina Schwanse (artist, New Orleans)

by Kevin McGarry | Mar 8, 2010

In 2009, artist Nina Schwanse relocated from New York City/Philadelphia to New Orleans to continue her video practice at the University of New Orleans. Her work refreshes the typically didactic …

First Impression: Skin Fruit (Part 1)

by Kevin McGarry | Mar 2, 2010

First Impression: Skin Fruit (Part 1)

by Kevin McGarry | Mar 2, 2010

This morning I previewed the hotly anticipated exhibition at the New Museum of Greek collector Dakis Joannou’s art holdings, impishly titled Skin Fruit and curated by Jeff Koons. I’ve been …

New guest blogger: Kevin McGarry

by Kelly Shindler | Mar 1, 2010

New guest blogger: Kevin McGarry

by Kelly Shindler | Mar 1, 2010

Thanks to Leanne Gilbertson for her excellent work covering the Houston contemporary art scene. Up next is Kevin McGarry. Kevin is a writer and curator based in Brooklyn, NY. His …

Raiding, Mining, and Resurrecting: Maurizio Cattelan at The Menil Collection

by Leanne Gilbertson | Feb 19, 2010

Raiding, Mining, and Resurrecting: Maurizio Cattelan at The Menil Collection

by Leanne Gilbertson | Feb 19, 2010

The current Maurizio Cattelan exhibition at The Menil Collection, Houston (February 12– August 15, 2010) marks the U.S. debut of recent large-scale works, site-specific installations, and four new works. Cattelan’s …

The Menil Collection: 20th and 21st Century Art as “Daily Companions”

by Leanne Gilbertson | Feb 15, 2010

The Menil Collection: 20th and 21st Century Art as “Daily Companions”

by Leanne Gilbertson | Feb 15, 2010

“Art: Take it off its marble pedestal and show it as a daily companion, refreshing, human and rich: witness of its time and prophet of times to come.”  – John …

Dan Phillips: Not Merely Vernacular, Pt. 2

by Leanne Gilbertson | Feb 8, 2010

Dan Phillips: Not Merely Vernacular, Pt. 2

by Leanne Gilbertson | Feb 8, 2010

In my estimation, Phoenix Commotion’s ongoing project (founded around 1998 by Dan Phillips) does much more than simply supply a university town with a rich dose of local color. While …

Flash Points

Dan Phillips: Not Merely Vernacular, Pt. I

by Leanne Gilbertson | Feb 4, 2010

Flash Points

Dan Phillips: Not Merely Vernacular, Pt. I

by Leanne Gilbertson | Feb 4, 2010

As a northerner recently transplanted to the Greater Houston area, I admit to having reservations about all things Texan. I have found this a tough place to love at first …

New guest blogger: Leanne Gilbertson

by Kelly Shindler | Feb 1, 2010

New guest blogger: Leanne Gilbertson

by Kelly Shindler | Feb 1, 2010

Thanks to Karthik Pandian for posting his Grand Canyon journals during his guest blogging stint. Fortunately, there is more to come in this series, so look out for a several …

Grand Canyon Journal 2: Let’s Get Medievalist on that Crevasse

by Karthik Pandian | Jan 26, 2010

Grand Canyon Journal 2: Let’s Get Medievalist on that Crevasse

by Karthik Pandian | Jan 26, 2010

[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2CqTsHQ78U] With the haunting mix of bodily certainty and existential confusion that characterizes a case of morning wood, the naked, supine torso of Ed Harris comes to sudden erection in a …