January 7, 2023

When will collectors learn? In this week's edition, art historian Erin Thompson dives into a book about a collector of Tibetan Buddhist art and peels away the layers of what she terms "spiritual colonialism." She writes, "There is a difference between seeking the meaning of an art object and seeking meaning for your own life through your interaction with an art object. Chasing your own pleasure by exploring the beauties of a faraway place according to your own particular desires is sex tourism with statues." Well put.

An Xiao Mina writes about Euphoria by Julian Rosefeldt at the Park Avenue Armory, describing it as "visually sumptuous, with gorgeous cinematography and choreography that float through a dreamscape of degradation."

And I highly recommend that you read Jessica L. Porter's piece about why ArtTable — a professional organization dedicated to advancing the leadership of women in the visual arts — is asking everyone in the arts (regardless of gender identity) to fill out their survey so they can tackle the issue of income inequality in the field. She writes in an opinion piece, "Comprehensive contemporary compensation data does not exist for arts workers and thus neither does compensation equality. With this survey, we will understand how broader systems of inequality relate to arts professionals’ compensation and use this information as a tool for change." You can fill out the survey online.

Many of us are still in the holiday mood, and if you're celebrating this weekend, please have a fantastic day with family and friends. My own thoughts during this holiday are with the people of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) who are celebrating their Christmas holidays under a cruel blockade by the Azerbaijani dictatorship that is entering its 4th week. 

— Hrag Vartanian, editor-in-chief

“Cakrasamvara and His Consort Vajravarahi,” Tibet, Nepalese school (16th century) (p. 102 ©All Rights Reserved from Buddhist Art of Tibet: In Malarepa’s Footsteps, Flammarion, 2022)

Sex Tourism With Statues

Buddhist Art of Tibet: In Milarepa’s Footsteps is a cringe-worthy display of “spiritual colonialism.” | Erin L. Thompson

THE LATEST 

• Artist Rigo 23’s statue of Native American activist Leonard Peltier was mysteriously lost — then found — in Oakland.

• A monument of Henrietta Lacks is set to replace a destroyed Robert E. Lee statue in Roanoke, Virginia.

• Projectile points found at the Cooper’s Ferry archeological site in Idaho are some of the oldest weapons in the Americas.

• A professor at Minnesota’s Hamline University is reportedly fired for showing Medieval paintings depicting the Muslim Prophet Muhammad.

• Our list of opportunities this month encompasses residencies at NXTHVN and Sculpture Space, grants from Adobe and Artadia, and more.

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ON OUR RADAR

From historical representations of gender fluidity to the overwhelming effects of colonialism on personal identity, our highlights in New York this month include:

• Morris Hirshfield Rediscovered at the American Folk Art Museum

• Kwame Brathwaite: Black Is Beautiful at New-York Historical Society

• Juan Francisco Elso: Por América at El Museo del Barrio

In Los Angeles, exhibitions confront and embrace the contradiction, fragmentation, and hybridity of our contemporary condition, including:

• Ink, Paper, Stone: Six Women Artists and the Language of Lithography at Norton Simon Museum

• Simone Forti at the Museum of Contemporary Art

• Carlos Jaramillo: Tierra del Sol at Guerrero Gallery 

HIGHLIGHTING PAINTERS

Yun-Fei Ji’s Great Leap Forward

The Chinese painter learned the state-sanctioned style of Socialist Realism and then elected to unlearn it in order to reinvent himself. | John Yau

Rosa Bonheur’s Animal Instinct 

Her art demonstrates a grasp of animal nature beyond picturesque figures in a landscape or sentimental stand-ins for human emotion. | Bridget Quinn

Looking Between the Lines of Max Cole’s Abstract Paintings

In the artist’s exhibition Endless Journey, each tiny, delicate mark reads as a meditative act, imbued with rigorous attention, care, and focus. | Amy Ellingson

FILM, PHOTOGRAPHY, PERFORMANCE

Charting Photography’s Gender Dynamics

Close Enough: New Perspectives from 12 Women Photographers at Magnum unfolds the complex gender dynamics that women experience behind the camera. | Maria Antonella Pelizzari

Our Love-Loathe Relationship With Capitalism

When it comes to capitalism, to quote the great Cardi B out of context, “It’s gon’ hurt me to hate you, but lovin’ you’s worse.” | AX Mina

Film Looks at Suffering Through the Eyes of a Donkey

EO’s universe seems a godless one; there’s no philosophical reason for the pain that humans and nonhuman animals endure. | Dan Schindel

MORE ON HYPERALLERGIC

Why You Should Fill Out ArtTable’s Survey on Working in the Arts

To close the gender pay gap in the field, we must first gain a better understanding of how systems of inequality shape the compensation and career experiences of art professionals. | Jessica L. Porter

Why Archaeologists Are Fuming Over Netflix’s Ancient Apocalypse Series

In an open letter, the Society for American Archaeology accused journalist Graham Hancock’s docuseries of disparaging experts while promoting “racist, white supremacist ideologies.” | Sarah E. Bond

What’s in Store for NFTs in 2023?

The most glaring sign of NFTs’ decline may not be their descending value, but their growing resemblance to the rest of the art market. | Elaine Velie 

Required Reading

This week, the National Library of France gets an upgrade, finding the enslavers at the US Capitol, the beauty of MetroCards, headsets that kill, a fed-up librarian, and much more. | Hrag Vartanian and Lakshmi Rivera Amin