Elon Musk’s ineptitude never fails to astound. But after he gave what looked like a Nazi salute during Trump’s inauguration, his defenders went as far as to claim that it was a reference to an ancient Roman gesture. Here’s the thing: That ancient Roman gesture likely never existed. Classics scholar Sarah E. Bond and historian Stephanie Wong explain how visual art and film concocted the salute’s apocryphal history, which right-wing movements are using to disguise their own violent beliefs.
Speaking of which, Ela Bittencourt offers a timely piece today on the Surrealists who extended their visionary artistic sensibilities into antifascist politics, seeking to reimagine the world around them. What better way to start your morning? Read on for a schedule of artsy Lunar New Year events around New York, a remembrance of artist Jo Baer, who passed away at age 95, and much more. Have a lovely Thursday.
— Lakshmi Rivera Amin, Associate Editor
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Elon Musk’s defenders were quick to claim that his hand motion was actually an ancient “Roman salute” — but that gesture never existed. | Sarah E. Bond and Stephanie Wong
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SPONSORED
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Johnson’s latest explorations into color, perception, familiarity, and scale are now on view at Flea Street in Menlo Park, California. Learn more
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IN THE NEWS
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LATEST REVIEWS
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A show at Munich’s Lenbachhaus museum is an urgent study in the meaningful art-political networks that stressed solidarity and unity over isolation. | Ela Bittencourt
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SPONSORED
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AUP is home to Europe’s only two-year interdisciplinary graduate program in creative writing, now accepting applications for fall 2025. Learn more
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From Alex Ito’s shifting mirrors to Laura Anderson Barbata’s oceanic drag, each piece in this show weaves together themes of identity, protection, and transformation. | Petala Ironcloud
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MORE FROM HYPERALLERGIC
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“The best film I could make was one that only I could tell as his son,” Tadashi Nakamura told Hyperallergic about legendary director Robert Nakamura. | Dan Schindel
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Organized by geographic region, a list of arts-related graduate programs to explore and apply to before deadlines close.
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IN MEMORIAM
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Jo Baer (1929–2025)
American painter | Hyperallergic David Lynch (1946–2025)
Filmmaker and artist | Hyperallergic Rudolf Boelee (1940–2025)
New Zealander printmaker | The Press Carolyn Brown (1927–2025)
Founding member of Merce Cunningham Dance Company | New York Times Jules Feiffer (1929–2025)
Artist and cartoonist | New York Times Lila Girvin (1929–2025)
Spokane painter and arts patron | Spokesman Heinz Kluetmeier (1942–2025)
Sports photographer | New York Times Norman Tolman (1936–2025)
Art collector and gallerist | Art Media Agency
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MEMBER COMMENTS
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Regina M Flanagan on “Why I Refuse to Make Art for Prisons”
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I understand and respect Chloe’s stance about the carceral system, but offer another viewpoint… When I administered public art programs, first for the State of Wisconsin and later, Minnesota, our program funded public art projects for prisons. We worked with the education and treatment programs and often the horticulture programs and involved the residents in art making. At one facility, the husband and wife artist team set up a clay studio for several months and worked with the women. It had benefits for the residents, most of whom would be returning to society. The married artists modeled the teamwork that they elicited from the residents
to create an outdoor gathering area with seating and seasonal plantings. The work remained afterward as an affirmation of something positive. Later, a Republican administration cancelled funding for public art in prisons in order to be more punitive. |
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