Let me be up front and say that if you hate link dumps you can join the club. I'm generally not interested in going to one site just to have to go to another, but it is impossible for the AFC offices to provide analysis on everything in the art world, so you'll have to settle with a few short quips and snarkisms in addition to our features. Here is the latest in art (and by latest I mean only that it didn’t happen more than two weeks ago.)
Lee Siegel: Does the Internet ever go on vacation? Last Thursday Tyler Green, of Modern Art Notes responds to the suggestion that critic Lee Siegel has either issued via email or on his blog (it's unclear which since Lee's blog is now unavailable) that he suggest one never read his book, because it would help sales. Man follows the request, links to one of his many posts that roasts Siegel on his lack of critical acumen. The very next day Siegel is terminated from his post at the for doing the impossibly stupid: Defending his own posts under the psuednym sprezzatura!
And…Let the holiday weekend of excellent posting begin:
(Update: I should note here that this is simply a run down of art bloggers, this is news everywhere – see Daily Kos.)
Kriston Capps, of Grammer.police is the first on this, titling his post on Siegel Advantage: Blogofascists (Friday)
JL at Modern Kicks chimes in nicely with richly deserved (Saturday)
Tyler Green responds at Modern Art Notes (Sunday)
And finally…
Monday, Lee Rausenbaum of Culturegrrl needlessly issues the disclaimer that she's not to be confused with Lee Siegel. I don't know who is confusing that woman with Lee Siegel, but whoever it is needs to do us all a favor and get it straight.
The Yes Men: Monday of last week, these guys pulled off another great performance in New Orleans. Via boing boing
Yes Men member Andy Bichlbaum, posing as Rene Oswin, a fake HUD official — delivered a speech that asserted that HUD was wrong and that it would not actually demolish perfectly sound low income housing, as it was planning to do.
In retrospect this piece was important enough that it probably should have curated into the art news at the Eyebeam reblog despite the fact that I had wanted to avoid becoming a redundant source for stories on the net (it is a safe assumption that many would have read that story already, what with boing boing being the third most popular blog on the Internet.) Proving it’s never too late to discuss good art work, here I am, minimally covering it. Here is what makes the art of the Yes Men so effective: it actually effects change. Okay, well maybe not with this administration, but the moon could explode and these guys would tell you that it was a sign of American progress. The Yes Men do however succeed in heightening awareness of the unethical actions of HUD, which may yet effect change. Democracy now has the full transcript.
“Holy Fuck in Art” Week. If ArtCal is any indication of the madness that is about to ensue, I suggest bracing yourselves because you are about to experience more art in one week than was ever a good idea. The selective art calendar lists over 100 openings this week, which means there are probably, you know, a billion happening (chelseaartgalleries tolled the number conservatively at 129 Tuesday.) I will be covering openings this all this week, so, I guess it is safe to leave this subject with the adage, more on this later.
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