In Brink (Punctum Press, 2022), photojournalist David Butow captures many critical tableaux in a visual dissection of the US political system between 2015 and 2021. There are flags and red MAGA hats, of course, and blue buttons with Hillary Clinton’s “H” logo. There are political rallies and candid portraits of […]
You don’t have to be a mycologist to enjoy Brian Blomerth’s new art book, Mycelium Wassonii — you could also be a fan of amazing graphic storytelling, interested in the cultural roots of mushroom as ritual and medicine, or eager to learn about some of the unsung heroines that helped […]
Movie-making is a highly collaborative form, with individual contributors on every level adding up to a final product that is often associated with a few key figures. While directors are often associated with the aesthetics of their films — and naturally play a huge part in their determination — their […]
If you’ve missed the news elsewhere, this month I’m so pleased to participate in a four-person show at Galerie Camille, Life is But a Dream. The show is conceptually arranged around participating artist Mary Fortuna, who invited myself, Scott Northrup, and Luzhen Qui to accompany her vision. Mary’s strong capacity […]
SAGINAW, Mich. — At the beginning of my guided tour through the Blactiquing Space, collector and curator Kevin Jones asked me a provocative, challenging question: Can something be racist and also be beautiful? It was just the first of many moments that evoked conflicting thoughts and emotions during my experience of […]
The ethical conundrum of using live animals as art materials is not a new issue in the art world — a place where aesthetics are considered a cause worth dying (and killing) for. But this week, fine art photographer and trained bird and wildlife rehabber Sheida Soleimani voiced objections to […]
“I hope what the section does is show the complex nature of how each of us might envision the future,” says Wassan Al-Khudhairi, the curator of the Focus section at this year’s Armory Show. “The works are informed more by the idea of looking into the future as a place […]
DETROIT — One of the first points of discussion at the “HBB from the future” workshop, conducted by Armenian-American weaver Levon Kafafian and Lebanese-American poet and educator Kaymelya Omayma Youssef at Room Project, was the definition of the word “habibi”( حبيبي), often abbreviated as HBB. Translated literally from Arabic, it […]
Back in the day, I used to publish fiction! Including this piece of micro-fiction titled “Xanhaar” — which I guess has more or less always been kicking around at the back of my brain, because I just did these two portraits. I like to think of them as the anniversary […]
As early as the introduction of railroads and the telegraph system, the Western landscape has struggled with the aesthetics of convenience. From commercial interests like strip malls and billboards, to national systems like highways and telephone wires, to individual interventions like graffiti and public sculpture, the definition of “eyesore” is […]