December 17, 2022

What a week it's been. As the world's richest I mean second richest man now 😜 continues to melt down tweet after tweet (what other rich man does that remind you of?), Hyperallergic's tweet about its new Mastodon account was shadowbanned by the site. Twitter appears to be desperate to stop the outflow of users (there were 3M mostly unused accounts on Mastodon when Musk took over Twitter and there are currently 8.5M). You can follow us over at Mastodon at @hyperallergic@newsie.social. Let's see where this all goes. 

Have we had enough of selfies with art? One museum guard thinks so, and it's worth a read.

Also, an extraordinary medieval gold necklace is discovered in England, the Cincinnati Art Museum discovered a self-portrait under one of Cézanne's still-life paintings, and a report by Hall W. Rockefeller considers the safety issues for women during studio visits.

Now, I want to write a little about John Yau, the brilliant art critic who has penned reviews for Hyperallergic since 2011 (can you believe it?!). His review of Anselm Kiefer's exhibition at Gagosian gallery this week was a great example of why he's such a fantastic writer. This line alone is pure whatever-that-is-he-puts-on-his-canvases-is 😂:

Anselm Kiefer is the Steven Spielberg of painting. Both are masters of effect and convinced of their own genius.

I mean, is there anything else to say?

— Hrag Vartanian, editor-in-chief

Visitors at the Palais des Beaux Arts in Lille, France, indulging in a selfie (photo by J.M.Dautel via Wikimedia Commons)

Enough With the Selfies; Look at the Art

Museum guard Dereck Stafford Mangus urges museumgoers to put their phones down, just for a minute. | Derrek Stafford Mangus 

Digital photography coupled with social media has turned the world into a cornucopia of boundless experiences. The problem is, these experiences tend to be regarded as individual, rather than collective.

NEWS THIS WEEK

Cézanne’s self-portrait under “Still Life With Bread and Eggs” (1865)

• A conservator at the Cincinnati Art Museum discovers a Paul Cézanne self-portrait hidden below an 1865 still-life painting.

• Bookforum announces it will cease publication just days after Penske Media reveals its acquisition of sister magazine Artforum.

• Archeologists discover an extravagant gold necklace in a medieval burial site in England’s Northamptonshire county.

• A new study making waves finds that only 8% of UK artists come from working-class backgrounds — but that’s always been the case.

• New School administration meets striking faculty on all their demands, including raises across the board and increased healthcare eligibility.

AMPLIFYING VOICES

Mural by Cloe Hakakian and Todd Goodman (photo by and courtesy Impermanent Art)

Murals in LA Lift the Voices of Iranian Protesters

Murals by Iranian-American artists across the city are inescapable reminders of the regime’s ongoing brutality. | Matt Stromberg 

“Culturally I felt very in the middle. This was something that could feel so personal to me, but this isn’t about just me. It’s about all the women who are fighting for their future and future generations,” artist Katrine Karimpour said. “What art can do is amplify those who are not being heard. We are their echoes.”

SPOTLIGHTING ARTISTS

Installation view of Anselm Kiefer: Exodus at Gagosian, New York; "Danaë" (2016–21) (photo by Rob McKeever, courtesy Gagosian)

You Can’t Coat the Holocaust With Gold

Anselm Kiefer’s philosophy has its roots in German Romanticism, particularly the belief that the artist can mediate between the creative and the divine, between earth and heaven. | John Yau 

The Stirring Political Etchings of Nicolás De Jesús

The Mexican artist’s works reveal the radical possibilities of an indigenous sensibility charged with a keen awareness of politics and art history. | Faye Hirsch

Pat Steir Accepts Time’s Passage With Grace

Steir’s work of the ’90s was the result of physically demanding processes. What happens when you cannot do what you once did? | John Yau 

NEW NARRATIVES

Sophie Vallance, “Tiger Diner” (2022) (courtesy Mrs.)

An Exhibition of Cat Art Worthy of a Meowseum

A new show at the Queens gallery Mrs. proves that dogs may be man’s best friends, but cats are humans’ idols. | Elaine Velie

Resisting Superficial Narratives About the US-Mexico Border

When the Dogs Stop Barking reflects the complexities, and foolishness, of geopolitical limits. | Edgar Picazo Merino

Wildfire Ash as a Medium

Meet the artists who use ash and residue from natural disasters to send an urgent message about the environmental calamity unfolding before us. | Scotti Hill 

MORE ON HYPERALLERGIC

A still from The Line by Cameron Granger, one of several films that will be screened at the Maysles Documentary Center (courtesy Cameron Granger)

Six Films That Plumb the Possibilities of Prison Abolition

The shorts will be screened as part of XO & Struggle: An Evening of Abolitionist Cinema at the Maysles Documentary Center in Harlem, New York. | Elaine Velie

For Women Artists, Studio Visits Can Be Risky Business

Personal safety concerns have pushed some women and trans artists to forgo studio visits, further narrowing their access to opportunities in the art world. | Hall W. Rockefeller

A Fresh Look at Flowers in Photography

Can photographers capture the vitality of flowers compellingly, innovatively, and beautifully? A new book gives a resounding yes. | Lauren Moya Ford

A Forgotten Modernist Finally Gets His Due

Architect Jean Welz worked in a socially engaged style that transcended individual pursuits for glory. | Billy Anania

Required Reading

This week, a rise in nuclear fusion, the downfall of the “COVID billionaire,” holiday string lights with a twist, and how many people would actually return a lost wallet? | Hrag Vartanian and Lakshmi Rivera Amin

Support Hyperallergic's independent journalism

Become a member today to help keep our reporting and criticism free and accessible to all.