Happy Monday! We’re a week into Trump round two, and the temptation to find some modicum of relief in the pages of a fantasy novel or escapist mystery is as strong as ever. But as our writers remind us today, even seemingly well-trodden corners of art history have lessons to teach us, as long as we know where to look. Take the Ancient Egyptian Fayyum funerary portraits, for example, which you’ve likely encountered if you’ve ever visited The Met. In a review of a new monumental book on their mysterious origins, artist Damien Davis digs deeper into the way they disrupt typical historical narratives. “This disruption is a gift,” he writes, “inviting us to understand art history not as a series of isolated moments but as a tapestry of influences and collaborations.” Bridget Quinn, too, completely shattered my admittedly minimal understanding of another niche of art history: printmaking in 18th- and 19th-century Britain. It was, in fact, a crucible of radical social critique with kinship to artists working against injustice today, she writes in her review of scholar Esther Pressoir’s new book. As you read on for a report on a bookstore dedicated to the late Octavia E. Butler, critic Ed Simon on an overdue Julia Warhola biography, and more illuminating pieces below, mark your calendars for our Editor-in-Chief Hrag Vartanian’s upcoming online talk with Tamara Lanier at 8pm (EST)/5pm (PST) on February 12, hosted by the ICA LA. Lanier has been waging a years-long fight against Harvard University to reclaim photographs of her enslaved ancestors, which she discussed with Hrag in a 2022 podcast and chronicles in her new memoir, out tomorrow. Learn more about the event and Lanier’s book here. — Lakshmi Rivera Amin, Associate Editor
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Activist Tamara Lanier will join Hrag Vartanian to discuss her new book about her battle with Harvard University for ownership of her enslaved ancestors’ images.
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SPONSORED
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This book re-envisions Mary Cassatt in the context of her transatlantic network, friendships, exhibitions, politics, and legacy. Rather than defining her as either an American artist or a French impressionist, author Ruth E. Iskin argues that we can best understand Cassatt through the complexity of her multiple identifications as an American patriot, a committed French impressionist, and a suffragist. Learn more
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The calligrapher, illustrator, and mother to Andy Warhol lived with her son in New York City for decades, supporting and even collaborating with him on artistic projects. | Ed Simon
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Propagandopolis, a globe-spanning selection of visual persuasions from the early 20th century to now, is a travelogue to disinformation’s past. | Melissa Holbrook Pierson
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Dog Days examines the complexity of human-canine relationships in light of intergenerational tensions in South Korean society. | Jesse Lambert
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SPONSORED
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Deep explorations of Ray Johnson, Ridykeulous, Tony Smith, Steina, Ruth Asawa, graffiti as monument, the art of mourning, and more. Learn more
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The Radical Print reframes the work of five artists who used the form to satirize and lampoon, actively dismantling power systems in the process. | Bridget Quinn
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As an artist, reading Euphrosyne Doxiadis’s book made me consider how we can draw inspiration from Egyptian art while engaging it thoughtfully — reverently, even. | Damien Davis
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ALSO ON HYPERALLERGIC
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Octavia’s Bookshelf, which survived the Eaton Fire, has become a haven and a hub for mutual aid resources and support. | Joelle E. Mendoza (JEM)
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You’re currently a free subscriber to Hyperallergic. To support our independent arts journalism, please consider joining us as a member. |
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