Was the GameStop Frenzy an Artwork?

Good Morning. ⛅ Today, Facebook lifted its ban on the pages of Australian arts organizations, two-thi

Feb 26, 2021 • View in browser

Good Morning. ⛅ Today, Facebook lifted its ban on the pages of Australian arts organizations, two-thirds of New York City’s arts and recreation jobs have been lost to the pandemic, and my review of Fake Famous, a documentary about Instagram influencers.— Hrag Vartanian, editor-in-chief

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Was the GameStop Frenzy an Artwork? In spite of silly pronouncements on the internet that the GameStop frenzy would or could lead to the dethroning of Wall Street, it did, for a moment, reveal a kind of collective power hidden in plain sight. Max Haiven

What's Happening

(illustration by Hrag Vartanian for Hyperallergic)

Facebook has lifted the ban on Australia’s “news pages,” but arts organizations will face long-term repercussions. The Baltimore Museum of Art has received over $1M for equity initiatives after canceling previous plans to fund the programs with proceeds from deaccessioned artworks, a proposal that drew sharp criticism from many in the arts community. Two-thirds of New York City’s arts and recreation jobs have been lost to the pandemic. Museums, parks, and theaters as well as sports and recreational businesses have been more impacted than any other economic sector in the city. While protests over free speech in Spain rock the country, the removal of the Spanish dictator Franco’s last statue is a symbol of reckoning with a bloody past. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) received a donation of 100 photographs by women artists from the collection of psychotherapist Helen Kornblum. The collection includes early modernists like Claude Cahun and Gertrud Arndt, as well as contemporary artists such as Catherine Opie and Carrie Mae Weems.

SPONSORED Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative Announces a Women’s Film and Video Series Viewfinder features free monthly screenings of rarely seen short films and videos, followed by conversations with artists, filmmakers, and Smithsonian curators.

Latest Reviews

Fake It ’Til You Make It: A Documentary Peels Back the Veneer of Online Influencers The crew of Fake Famous generated followers for aspiring Instagram celebs, demonstrating the artifice of internet success. Hrag Vartanian

A Documentary Lays Out the Boy Scouts Sex Abuse Scandal Church and the Fourth Estate investigates one of the tens of thousands of cases of alleged sexual abuse within the BSA, as well as Scouting’s links to the LDS Church. Nathan Smith

SPONSORED SVA Offers Summer Residencies Online and On-Campus This Year The priority application deadline is April 1, 2021.

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