January 19, 2022 • View in browser

Good morning. ☁️ Today, a digital exhibition looks at the long (and dark) history of the banana, all emoji are organized by real-world size, and how Jewish collectors helped shape Modern Art.

— Hrag Vartanian, editor-in-chief 

A Digital Exhibition Examines the Darker Side of Bananas

The banana's dominance and ubiquity has had serious and far-reaching implications for the region, engendering exploitative labor systems, climate change, and migration. | Lauren Moya Ford

WHAT'S HAPPENING

A chicken and car emoji shown to scale by artist Javier Bórquez. (image courtesy Javier Bórquez)

• A satisfying new website, "Emoji to Scale," arranges every emoji by their real-world dimensions.

• A group of investors is mocked for assuming they also owned the licensing rights to the “Dune” storyboard they acquired at auction.

• The National Arts Club announces its 12 new artist fellows.

LATEST REVIEWS

Saying Maybe to the Yes Men

As much as I appreciate the collective’s culture jamming initiatives, I don’t know that their putative premise ever bears meaningful fruit. | Seph Rodney

The Forgotten Story of Modern Art's Great Jewish Collectors

Charles Dellheim's study tells the tale of a small group of Jewish art dealers and collectors who played a key role in the changing art world of the 19th and 20th centuries. | Naomi Polonsky

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