John Edmonds, New Directors/New Films, and Uncomfortable Holiday Parties

Happy Thursday! 🌞 Today, the unusual image on the first commercial Christmas Card, the fascinating "C

Dec 10, 2020 • View in browser

Happy Thursday! 🌞 Today, the unusual image on the first commercial Christmas Card, the fascinating “Clean with Me” video genre on YouTube, and a review of an exhibition by John Edmonds.– Hrag Vartanian, editor-in-chief

John Edmonds’s Intimate Gaze

John Edmonds, “Young man wearing a maternity bust (from the Makonde)” (courtesy the artist and Company, New York. © John Edmonds)

In his solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, artist John Edmonds conjures optics old and new to chronicle complex relationships between Africa and its diasporas. A Sidelong Glance comprises venerable portraits shot on a large-format camera that document the artist’s friends and acquaintances, often cradling, clutching, and ogling African art objects.

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In Other NewsArtist Reggie Black is projecting a message about the history of slavery on the façade of the ​Dyckman Farmhouse Museum in Manhattan, where six people were enslaved. Did you know that the first ever commercial Christmas card was viewed as scandalous by British teetotalers for ostensibly promoting underage drinking?

Our New Directors/New Films Picks

At New Directors/New Films, Stories About People Struggling to Heal This year’s online edition of the venerable festival features movies about mourning rituals, reenactments of family history, cult survivors, and more. Ela Bittencourt

SPONSORED Call for Applications: MFA in Environmental Art & Social Practice Integrating ecological thinking with social justice principles in a rigorous and radical curriculum focusing on creative artistic inquiry and project-based research at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Apply. Virtual Info Sessions: Friday, Dec 11, 12–2 pm, PST (RSVP) Friday, Jan 8, 12–2pm PST (RSVP)

More from Hyperallergic

A Goodbye to the Uncomfortable Holiday Work Party Alex Prager’s “Farewell, Work Holiday Parties” at LACMA captures the awkwardness that ensues when a room full of intoxicated, mostly white people get together during the holidays. Lexis Olivier-Ray

SPONSORED Join Karol Radziszewski, Carlos Motta, and Laura Raicovich for a Conversation on Queering and Decolonizing History Presented by Polish Cultural Institute New York in collaboration with Residency Unlimited, Searching for Missing Narratives will take place on December 15 at 6pm (EST).

The Spotless, Uncanny World of Cleaning YouTube The “Clean with Me” video genre pits our deep need to connect against the pressures that come with sharing the intimacies of one’s life. Justine Smith

SPONSORED SVA MA Curatorial Practice Opens Fall 2021 Applications At the New York-based, globally linked program for professional curatorial training, faculty and international guests provide expertise and a network of connections.

Mexican Filmmakers Are Documenting Indigenous Resistance and Feminist Issues The online film program MexDocs presents a selection of great recent Mexican documentaries. Dan Schindel

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