October 25, 2022 • View in browser

Good morning. 🌧️ Today in art activism, artists stage a protest for Iranian women's rights at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, and climate activists in Europe smear another masterpiece with food, this time using mashed potatoes. Yes, these climate protests are starting to repeat themselves, but which do you prefer: potatoes on a painting or a tornado in your backyard?

We also checked in with the Philadelphia Museum of Art Union to ask how it felt to return to work after a 19-day strike. Here's a small teaser: The museum welcomed workers back with an ice cream social, which they didn't necessarily appreciate.

And if you're a dog lover, you will really enjoy our special coverage of NYC’s Halloween Dog Festival. “Frito Pawlo,” a Welsh corgi Frida Kahlo lookalike, is irresistible. 

— Hakim Bishara, Senior Editor

Philadelphia Museum Strikers Open Up on “Tense” Return to Work

The museum welcomed the workers back with an ice cream social, and many of them didn’t appreciate it. | Elaine Velie

LATEST NEWS

The banners depicted the face of Mahsa Amini and the phrase "Woman, Life, Freedom." (courtesy Anonymous Artists for Iran)

• An anonymous collective of Iranian artists unfurled protest banners at the Guggenheim in an "action to support the current revolution in Iran."

• Activists from Letzte Generation throw mashed potatoes at Monet’s “Grainstacks” in another food-on-masterpieces climate change action.

• Hundreds of dogs poured into Manhattan’s Tompkins Square Park this weekend for the annual Halloween Dog Festival and costume contest.

• LA’s Getty Museum is exhibitingthe remaining pages from Códice Maya de México, the oldest surviving book of the Americas.

ART & PERFORMANCE

Can Commodities Really Critique Commodity Culture?

Given a platform to say something — about first-world capitalism, its attendant environmental destruction, or the definition of the self through objects — why not use it? | Natalie Haddad

Digital Theater Is Not Just a Pandemic Fad, Creators Say

The art form continues to survive the return of in-person theatre, but maker-performers struggle with a lack of institutional support. | Mihika Agarwal

MORE FROM HYPERALLERGIC

The Story of a Man’s Friendship With a Cloud

Through its magical realism, The Cloud & the Man posits the power of love in adding a tinge of color to an overlooked, black-and-white life. | Arun A.K.

AI Art Is Soft Propaganda for the Global North

Unsurprisingly, the artistic and ethical shortcomings of AI image generators are tied to their dependence on capital and capitalism. | Marco Donnarumma

IN OUR STORE

“Matisse’s Model” 1,000 Piece Puzzle x Faith Ringgold

Spend a cozy day indoors assembling this quilt painting from Faith Ringgold’s celebrated series The French Collection, which tells the story of a fictional Black American artist and artists’ model in the early 20th century.

Shop art-inspired puzzles!

Support Hyperallergic's independent journalism

Become a member today to help keep our reporting and criticism free and accessible to all.

MOST POPULAR

1. How John Mitchell Shakes Up Portraiture 

2. This Close-Up of an Ant’s Face Will Scar You Forever

3. New Yorker Art Critic Peter Schjeldahl Dies at 80

4. Michigan Art Dealer Swindled Seniors in $1.6M Fraud Scheme

5. Rare 2,700-Year-Old Stone Carvings Discovered in Iraq