February 4, 2023

This week, we received another reminder that things aren't always what they seem. We've long understood the hazy canvases of the Impressionists to be markers of deep subjectivity, a generational rebellion against restrictive notions of line and form. We forgot that the Industrial Revolution of the time was filling the skies of European countries with smog. That, according to a new study, means that the dreamy landscapes of Monet were not so different from what he saw outside of his window.

We also discussed mummies, the preserved bodies of Ancient Egyptians who were dehumanized into museum displays. Now, some museums think that calling them "mummified persons" can remedy this problem. Can it?

Allow me to also recommend Mebrak Tareke's excellent essay on the war in the Tigray region of Ethiopia and the immense destruction it wreaked on cultural heritage.

Finally, on this unusually cold weekend in New York, you can snuggle inside with some good reads on Cézanne, Alex Katz, Uta Barth, and others. And when you're ready to go out and about, you'll have our guides for shows to see in New York and Los Angeles this month. I wish you a warm, happy weekend.

— Hakim Bishara, Senior Editor

Did Air Pollution Inspire Impressionism?

A new study posits that rising smog levels in 19th-century London and Paris likely played a role in blurring the lines of realism. | Elaine Velie

WHAT'S HAPPENING

• A life-size marble statue dressed as Hercules was unearthed from a sewer line beneath Rome's Scott Park.

• NYC’s MTA leaves out the second “f” in a Georgia O’Keeffe quote at its new Grand Central Madison station.

• Hamburg’s Antisemitism Commissioner disparages artist Adam Broomberg for his involvement in the pro-Palestine BDS movement.

• A mummy discovered in the shadows of the Pyramid of Djosermay might be Ancient Egypt’s oldest. (Also: See why some museums are ditching the term “mummy.")

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TRANSFORMING THE EVERYDAY

Cézanne Saw the Nobility of an Apple

The French painter felt he had to rise to the challenge of one question above all things else: What exactly is it to be a modern artist? | Michael Glover

Uta Barth Chases Light at the Getty Center 

Her solo exhibition at the Los Angeles institution demonstrates how natural light can turn an overlooked, everyday setting into a sublime landscape. | Renée Reizman

Traditional Korean Painting for Modern Times

In Seongmin Ahn’s paintings, it is not our past we are looking at but our possible future. | John Yau

IN A NEW LIGHT

The Single Detail That Changed My Mind About Alex Katz

A little detail in an artwork can reveal that sometimes what is right on the surface can change our understanding of the whole. | David Carrier

Diana Al-Hadid’s Nostalgic Tribute to Penn Station

Al-Hadid’s new mosaic features the famed clock that hung at the entrance of the original station until the building was demolished in the 1960s. | Taylor Michael

Ruth Asawa, Without End

Asawa’s life masks do not keep count of past or future losses. | Ekalan Hou

CRITICS' PICKS FOR NYC & LA THIS MONTH

There’s much to see in New York during these compact few weeks of February, including:

• Ed Ruscha: Parking Lots atYancey Richardson Gallery

• Martha Edelheit: Naked City, Paintings from 1965–80atEric Firestone Gallery

• Uncommon Denominator: Nina Katchadourian at the MorganatMorgan Library & Museum

And a special group show about our relationship with mushrooms at Fountain House Gallery.

February is a big time in the Los Angeles art world, with four art fairs coming to town later this month Galleries and museums here are mounting ambitious shows to take advantage of the moment. These include:

• Alicia Piller: Within at Craft Contemporary

• Brad Phillips: I Know What I did Last Summer at de boer

• Mulyana: Modular UtopiaatUSC Fisher Museum of Art

And the peripatetic MexiCali Biennial touches down at the Cheech in Riverside.

Be sure to read our full list of highlights in NYC and LA!

IN THE STUDIO

A View From the Easel

In this edition, artists draw figures from memory, bring their studios to the streets, get creative in the classroom, and rely on pet goldfish to remind them to set down their brushes and rest.

Want to take part? Check out our submission guidelines and share a bit about your studio with us!

MORE ON HYPERALLERGIC

The Rise and Fall of the Neo-Romantics

Theatres of Melancholy: The Neo-Romantics in Paris and Beyond highlights a group of artists who found acclaim and patronage only to fall back into obscurity. | Sarah Rose Sharp

The Biggest Shitshow Ever, Literally

Oh Shit! retraces the historical arc of feces from ancient Rome to the sewage challenges and potential innovations of the 21st century. | Daniel Larkin

Why The Rules of the Game Is Still Required Viewing

Jean Renoir’s newly restored 1939 classic proves that lawless wealth — then as now — makes a marvelous farce of us all. | Eileen G'Sell

What Is Happening in Tigray?

Scores of cultural heritage sites are in ruins amid a fragile truce and an ongoing war of narratives. | Mebrak Tareke

Required Reading

This week, AP Style Twitter goes wild, the “enshittification” of TikTok, and did people actually come flooding back to New York City after COVID? | Hrag Vartanian and Lakshmi Rivera Amin

OPPORTUNITIES AND PROGRAMS

Opportunities in February 2023

From residencies, fellowships, and workshops to grants, open calls, and commissions, our monthly list of opportunities for artists, writers, and art workers.

MFA, MA, and PhD Programs to Apply for by Early 2023

Organized by geographic region, a list of arts-related graduate programs to explore and apply to before deadlines close.