September 21, 2022 • View in browser

Good morning. 🌤️ It's an age-old question: How on earth did the ancient Egyptians transport those massive bricks of the Giza pyramids? Now, scientists might finally have the answer, and it has to do with Africa's longest river, the mighty Nile. Read more about that in our report.

Another question: Many art galleries are now incorporating furniture into exhibitions. Should we be worried about that? Is it a welcome embrace of homeyness or another sign of the over-commodification of art? Our guest contributor Phin Jennings has some thoughts on that.

Also today, reviews of Céline Condorelli, José María Cabral’s new film Parsley, the fight against book bans in the US, and a lot more.

— Hakim Bishara, Senior Editor

Artist Slammed for Matching Instagram Photos to Open-Camera Footage

Critics of the project say artist Dries Depoorter is engaging dangerously with surveillance culture. | Rhea Nayyar

WHAT'S HAPPENING

Core samples taken from the surrounding floodplain indicate that a lost branch of the Nile once flowed through this region. (image via Wikimedia Commons)

• Researchers hypothesize that a now-dried-up branch of the Nile helped transfer materials in the building of the pyramids at Giza.

• The Getty Foundation announces a $3.1 million grant to preserve works created by Black modern architects.

• Anti-Indigenous slurs are removed from the names of over 650 federal geographic sites across the United States.

• New York Public Library spotlights Toni Morrison for Banned Books Week, offering Beloved and The Bluest Eye for unlimited checkouts through October 31.

LATEST IN ART

The Hidden Labor of Exhibitions

Condorelli considers how our modes of seeing and reproducing images and environments might develop, questioning how we see — and how we might see differently. | Anna Souter

How Artists in the Southwest are Drawing Attention to Wildfires

“Artists can provide visual stories as points of entry into conversations about the health of forests, and the destructive and healing aspects of fire,” says Saskia Jordá. | Lynn Trimble

MORE ON HYPERALLERGIC

Parsley Brings a Haitian-Dominican Massacre to Light

Director José María Cabral’s intention to bring a horrific history front and center is much needed for a massacre that remains a footnote in Dominican society. | Michael Piantini

Should We Be Uncomfortable With Furniture at Art Galleries?

At first, seeing exhibitions incorporating home furnishings worried me, thinking they turn galleries into shops for luxury goods. But this concern is misguided. | Phin Jennings

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