Category: visual

Sometimes he wrote columns in which all of the proper names had been excised, which rendered them useless as gallery PR; others featured pseudonymous composite characters like “Gaston Porcile Vitrine,” an allegory of art-world fickleness who finds himself suddenly, humiliatingly shunned at downtown hangouts after a season or two in the limelight. – The Baffler

Though the art market is often described as capricious, it has a clear logic: the art that commands the most money at a given moment is that which best reflects its collectors’ view of themselves—pious or powerful, beautiful or deep. Jeff Koons—whose shiny objects, vendor-babble, and dead smile recur like a fugal motif throughout the film—has provided this service for decades, celebrating the crass while flattering his buyers that they are clever and superior for being in on the joke. – New York Review of Books

In “A Chronology of Photography” photojournalist Paul Lowe and his contributors detail the medium’s swift progression from the purview of the scientists who invented it (noted astronomer John Herschel coined the term “photograph” in 1839, combining the Greek words for “light” and “drawing”) to its adoption by entrepreneurs who established thousands of photographic studios to meet the growing demand among members of the middle class for images of themselves, something previously available only to the wealthy. – Washington Post

Cassie Grimaldi imagines some new contenders, such as the Center for Translation Of Vague Posts: “At this research center, linguists will work to interpret vague social-media posts, past and present, interrogating concepts such as “Who is this subtweet about?”; “What does this away message with unsubtle emo lyrics indicate about its author’s life?”; and “What does the Facebook status ‘don’t ask!!!’ actually suggest?” People will flock to the center to view its coveted Rosetta Stone: an emoji tableau.” – The New Yorker

“The Museum of Contemporary Art announced Wednesday that it will close its Pacific Design Center location next month after exhibiting architecture and design at the West Hollywood satellite for more than 20 years. MOCA will continue an architecture and design program, but at its Grand Avenue and Geffen Contemporary locations in downtown L.A.” — Los Angeles Times

Well, it’s one thing to do if you find a Banksy on your property one morning. The garage’s owner, Ian Lewis, has sold the piece, Seasons Greetings, to the Essex-based Banksy expert John Brandler but it will stay in Port Talbot, at least for the time being.” — The Guardian

“I’m especially proud of pumping up the volume on all things indigenous. We’re playing a leadership role in the world here in Canada [recognising indigenous work]. We talked about that since I first got here.” Mayer says it was an “emotional moment” when the museum opened its Canadian and Indigenous Galleries in June 2017, covering 5,000 years of creative output in the region, from First Nations art and objects to contemporary work. – The Art Newspaper

These historic gardens, originally built for Agra’s nobility, are two of the city’s few riverfront gardens that survive today. The project of bringing them back to their original glory has involved restoring their original plantings, reactivating their water features, and creating a visitor center. – Atlas Obscura

Milwaukee’s Marcus Center for the Performing Arts has a need to attract new audiences (and don’t we all). So there’s a plan to refresh the complex’s campus, including an idea to cut down a grove of trees and replace it with a lawn. But Mary Louise Schumacher wonders if destroying the trees – an important design element of the current campus – is really in the best interest of the community. – Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

“After a Banksy mural appeared on his Port Talbot garage last month, Ian Lewis found himself facing a ‘very, very stressful’ battle to protect the artwork from thieves and vandals. Here, four people share their own, very different experiences of being ‘Banskied’.” — The Guardian