March 4, 2023

This week, we published an insightful conversation between curators Lise Ragbir and eunice bélidor about being a "Black Lives Matter hire" at a major museum, and how art institutions may not be supporting individuals from racialized groups, while also hindering efforts to diversify arts institutions. A highly recommended read.

In other news, the state of Tennessee is criminalizing any public drag performance in the presence of a minor, a London hospital removed art made by Gaza schoolchildren, and John Seed tooks at eight off-the-beaten-path art spaces in California.

And this week, I asked AI to review Refik Anadol's AI-informed installation, Julia Curl reviews Jimmy DeSana, Emmanuel Ortega takes a look at Yvette Mayorga's rococo tastes, and John Yau writes about Jake Berthot's paintings, which are haunted by an awareness of mortality and what lays beyond.

Also, this Tuesday, March 7, we're hosting a conversation with Beya Othmani about the influential Festival of Black Arts in Dakar (1966) and Lagos (1977) and how artists from North Africa negotiated the concept of Blackness. Based in Tunisia, Othmani brings her professional insight as an independent curator and researcher. You can RSVP online for the Zoom conversation.

— Hrag Vartanian, editor-in-chief

I Was a Museum’s Black Lives Matter Hire

“You think you’ve been hired because you’re the right person. But once you’re inside, you realize you’re not the right fit,” says curator eunice bélidor. | Lise Ragbir

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK

• Ukrainian postal service marks a year of war with a new stamp featuring a Banksy mural and the shorthand “FCK PTN!” in Cyrillic.

• Tennessee passes a bill criminalizing public drag performances as well as private shows with the presence of a minor.

• A London hospital removed artwork made by Gaza schoolchildren under pressure from UK Lawyers for Israel.

• Researchers at CalTech believe they’ve come closer to decoding how the brain decides whether an artwork is “good” or attractive.

• The Mauritshuis Museum comes under fire for sharing an AI-generated take on Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” which some deemed “highly unethical.”

We rely on member support to publish quality arts journalism and criticism that is free and accessible. Become a member today and help keep our reporting available to all.

LATEST REVIEWS

The “Society Photographer” of NYC’s Downtown Underground

Jimmy DeSana’s work remains transgressive, even by today’s standards. | Julia Curl

Raging Against the Dying of the Light

Jake Berthot’s paintings are haunted by an awareness of mortality and, beyond that, a feeling that no light awaits in the darkness. | John Yau 

Decolonizing Rococo

Yvette Mayorga demonstrates the efficiency of Rococo in articulating class distortions of US Latinx peoples. | Emmanuel Ortega

We Asked AI to Review Refik Anadol’s “Unsupervised” at MoMA

What does the internet’s most popular Artificial Intelligence chatbot have to say about Anadol’s AI-based artwork? | Hrag Vartanian

ON THE WEST COAST

10 Art Shows to See in LA This March

Your list of must-see, fun, insightful, and very Los Angeles art events this month, including Alison Saar, Kade Twist, a show on the visual language of protest, and much more. | Matt Stromberg

Eight California Art Spaces Off the Beaten Track

Scenic, historic, and oh-so-very California spaces that justify an art pilgrimage. | John Seed

California’s City of Compton Gets Its Own Museum

“We don’t have to go to Long Beach, or Downtown, or West LA to the Getty,” said artist Anthony Lee Pittman. “We can see art right here.” | Matt Stromberg

IN THE STUDIO

A View From the Easel

In this edition, artists work alongside their children and loved ones, enjoy the porch as a painting studio, honor soil amidst the climate crisis, and use paint to give old rags new life.

Want to take part? Check out our submission guidelines and share a bit about your studio with us! All mediums and workspaces are welcome, including your home studio.

MORE ON HYPERALLERGIC

Documenting the Black History Not Taught in Classrooms

The photographs in Renata Cherlise’s Black Archives capture Black people experiencing moments of love, joy, rest, leisure, and everyday life. | Briana Ellis-Gibbs

Is the Destruction of Armenian Heritage Not Important Enough for the Getty?

When asked why Azerbaijan’s ongoing assault on Armenian heritage was excluded from a major Getty publication, a co-editor responded with appalling condescension. | Simon Maghakyan

Guantánamo’s Artists Fight for Beauty

Remaking the Exceptional allows us to feel the furious joy that emanates from those who have saved their own lives with activism and art. | Erin L. Thompson and Maliha Tasnim

Required Reading

This week, a Black Southern quilt collection is donated to a Mississippi museum, the fascinating AI-generated ceramic glazes, a map of Italian Fascist monuments, and can clothing ever truly be recycled? | Hrag Vartanian and Lakshmi Rivera Amin

Opportunities in March 2023

From residencies, fellowships, and workshops to grants, open calls, and commissions, our monthly list of opportunities for artists, writers, and art workers.

IN OUR STORE

Frida Self-Portrait Socks

Frida Kahlo’s self-portraits are some of her most celebrated works, and now you can sport her iconic face on your ankles! These socks take their design from the symbolic “Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird” (1940).

Browse socks inspired by famous artworks!