May 28, 2021 • View in browser

Good morning. 🌤

Today, 150 years ago, members of the working class took over the city of Paris for two months, creating what has become known as the Paris Commune. We look back on how artists and photographers captured this revolutionary moment.

Also today, Hannah Baker argues for a new kind of museum, artist Rafael Pérez Evans looks at the politics of food, and much more.

— Elisa Wouk Almino, Senior Editor

Jia Zhangke Talks About His Quest to Document a Rapidly Disappearing China

Hyperallergic interviews Jia about Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue and finding people to testify about their experiences in rural villages over the past seven decades.

Jordan Cronk

The Paris Commune

The Iconography of the Paris Commune, 150 Years Later

On the sesquicentennial of the fall of the Commune, a look back at how artists captured those few revolutionary months.

Billy Anania

Bruno Braquehais, The Father of French Journalism Who Documented Paris’s Socialist Revolution

For two months in 1871, the people took over the city, and photos by Bruno Braquehais depict the drama — and destruction — of the period.

Kirsten Lew

Latest Reviews

Spilled Milk and Other Acts of Protest Visualize the Politics of Food Production

Inspired by the farmers’ protests Rafael Pérez Evans witnessed as a child in Spain, the works in Handful draw attention to the deliberate wedges driven between producer and consumer.

Anna Souter

A Trite Dramatization of the Oslo Peace Accords

An adaptation of the Tony-winning play, Oslo’s apolitical take on the Israel-Palestine conflict is of little use to anyone.

Juan Barquin

Also on Hyperallergic

Lovis Corinth's Portrait of Anti-Nazi Gynecologist Is Acquired by Two UK Institutions

The painting is the first artwork to be allocated to multiple museums under a new British law.

Cassie Packard

We Should Abolish Museums Now

That is, we should remake and reimagine the museum.

Hannah Baker

From the Store

A Life Made by Hand: the Story of Ruth Asawa

This lushly illustrated picture book by collage artist Andrea D'Aquino brings Ruth Asawa’s creative journey to life. Delightful and substantial, this engaging title for young art lovers includes a page of teaching tools for parents and educators.

Shop now