January 18, 2023

Good morning. ⛅ Unveiled last week in Boston, a sculpture by the artist Hank Willis Thomas was intended as an homage to the love of Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King. But it seems that not everyone is in love with the memorial. Some even accused it of evoking lewd imagery from a certain angle. Read more about that in our report today.

In other stories, we look at the New York museums that continue to hold remains of Native Americans while Lisa Korneichuk writes about the erasure of Ukrainian culture in Western museums, and Natasha Boas brings us highlights from the San Francisco Art Week.

Speaking of San Francisco, remember that art dealer who heartlessly hosed an unhoused woman? A local artist responded to that in a moving performance in front of his gallery, which you can see in Elaine Velie's report today. And as always, there's more.

— Hakim Bishara, Senior Editor

Ukrainians Demand Their Place in Art History

No one would call an artist from India “British” or an artist from Peru “Spanish,” so why do museums continue to label Ukrainian artists as "Russian"? | Lisa Korneichuk

WHAT'S HAPPENING

Representative of the American Indian Community House Rick Chavolla during a protest at the Brooklyn Museum in 2018 (photo Hrag Vartanian/Hyperallergic)

• A new investigation lists the Brooklyn Museum and American Museum of Natural History among the multiple New York institutions that hold the remains of Native Americans.

• The unveiling of a new MLK sculpture draws mixed reactions, with some praising the artist's design while others question the interpretation of his legacy.

• Courtney Desiree Morris stages a performance to honor the unhoused woman who was hosed down by a San Francisco gallery owner. 

• Archaeologists have discovered what they believe is a 2,000-year-old temple dedicated to Poseidon, the Ancient Greek god of the sea.

LATEST IN ART

What to See in San Francisco's Art Week

Shows not to be missed during the Bay Area’s mid-January flurry of art activity. | Natasha Boas

Looking Beyond the "Brotherhood" of the Pre-Raphaelites

Concurrent shows at the Delaware Art Museum highlight overlooked aspects of Pre-Raphaelite art and tread beyond typical gender hierarchies. | Mark Scroggins

At the Japanese American National Museum, a Book Becomes a Monument

Internment camp survivors and their descendants are invited to stamp Ireichō, a book that represents the first definitive count of those incarcerated. | Sharon Mizota

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