The Avant/Garde Diaries is a digital portrait magazine that invites leading creatives to talk about the cutting edge of art, design, fashion, music and film.
The Avant/Garde Diaries’s most recent entry, “Jonathan Jones & Cockatoo Island – Dialogue for the Future” follows the contemporary site specific installation artist, Jonathan Jones, as he explores his native Sydney Harbor’s largest landmass, Cockatoo Island.
Once upon a time, way back in 2002, Guardian arts writer Jonathan Jones wrote an admirably harsh review of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi’s exhibition “The Desert Is Not Silent”. And holy shit, is he not going to let it go.
David Harbour and the cast of Stranger Things are the latest creatives to use an awards show acceptance speech as a pulpit against Trump. But the spotlight here is undeniably on Winnona Ryder, who looks like she’s a little confused and also holding in a massive cocaine-induced shit during the whole thing. [YouTube]
Does Jonathan Jones really think there’s no future for figurative sculpture in the UK? Princes William and Harry are commissioning a memorial to their mother, Princess Diana, for Kensington Gardens, and Jones seems pretty adamant that it must be abstract. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that any work produced to fit a popular genre runs the risk of looking dated and tacky. [The Guardian]
“There’s no one more optimistic than I am about the power and importance of art, even when it’s just for art’s sake. But every once in a while, especially when prodded by a show like Perpetual Revolution, I want to shout, ‘F*** art, it’s time to do something!'” -Blake Gopnik on the ICP’s latest politically-charged exhibition. [artnet News]
“I’m really glad that this piece is happening when it is, because art needs to be a voice… You can’t just be in opulent halls — most of the people who come here are very, very wealthy, and to have a time in our country where this is going down, you have to speak directly to them and be like, get f–king real.” Dan Deacon on “The Times Are Racing,” the New York City Ballet production set to his album America. [W Magazine]
Juicy: the worst art heists of the past century. [The Daily Beast]
Heji Shin’s solo show at Real Fine Arts looks amazing and so weird. [Contemporary Art Daily]
If you need a break from politics, watch this minute spot on people who were offered $30 to jump off a 10 meter tower into a pool. They had never done so before. It’s so great. [The New York Times]
POLITICS
And in the chaos that is now our country, lets run down the latest list of shit that’s happened. We expect this to be out of date in a couple of hours.
Yesterday Sally Yates, the Attorney General under the Obama administration told Justice Department Lawyers not to defend President Donald Trump’s executive order banning muslims against legal challenges. In response, Trump fired her in a letter that reads like a Yelp review. [The New York Times]
Fox commenter Sean Hannity is asking who was bankrolling the protestors at airports this weekend. Toronto Star Reporter Daniel Dale asks how much money Hannity thinks it takes to stand at an airport? [@DDale8]
From the speech writer responsible for coining “the axis of evil”, and outspoken conservative Trump critic David Frum, a dystopian look at how quickly the republic will fall. [The Atlantic]
Conservative op-ed columnist David Brooks is losing his shit over Trump’s administration. Another must-read. [The New York Times]
Russia is heating up the shooting war in in Ukraine as US alienates Germany, isolates UK, and provokes China. [@Davidfrum]
Michael Green, “r/Pizzagate I. An Evening W/ The Podestas.”
“This is the first year that really felt like 1984… Information is vanishing. There is no resistance because nobody knows what is true or fake anymore.” Digital artist Michael Green has a new series of Maya 3D renderings based on #pizzagate, and wow. Creepy stuff that would be hilarious if the reality of just how crazy people are didn’t lead to armed assaults on pizzerias. [The Creator’s Project]
Is this good news? Bad news? Baltimore’s new mayor Catherine Pugh has announced the creation of a “Safe Arts Space Task Force.” I personally know many of the members of this task force, so I’m optimistic, but troubled by Pugh’s remarks that safety is “non-negotiable.” What does this mean for artist-run and/or artist-owned spaces that can’t afford sprinkler systems or upgrades to operable windows on their own? Should we expect financial support from the city? Or even more scrutiny? This announcement comes on the wake of a national crisis, wherein artist-run spaces such as Denver’s Rhinoceropolis and Baltimore’s Bell Foundry have been shuttered by authorities following the deadly Ghost Ship fire in Oakland. [City Paper]
Meanwhile in the other Bay Area, nearly 10,000 people signed a petition urging the cities of San Francisco and Oakland to place a moratorium on evictions of artists. The petition asks the city to grant artists more time to bring their spaces up to date and to waive permit fees for safety upgrades such as sprinkler systems. This is a great idea. But it would be fantastic if cities actually used a fraction of their discretionary budgets to help artist-run spaces become safer. [KRON4]
‘Tis the season for end-of-the-year “top 10” listicles… but WTF is up with The Hollywood Reporter‘s “The 9 Strangest ‘Stranger Things’ Things of 2016”? First of all, 9? Really? But mostly this is just the most junk-posting clickbait piece I’ve seen in a while. Note: not a recommended reading piece, just commentary on the state of media. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Speaking of the aforementioned genre of blog posts, Jonathan Jones has released his roundup of top exhibitions. They’re mostly what you’d expect: Giorgione at the Royal Academy of London! Caravaggio at the National Gallery of London! Picasso at MoMA! [The Guardian]
Lots of problematic gender stereotypes in this article, but it also offers many valid points. The main argument is that [“typical”] women utilize cities differently than [“typical”] men do, and that designers need to consider this when planning for all inhabitants of an urban area. It’s a little shocking that the author exclusively cites contemporary studies without acknowledging Jane Jacobs, whose experiences as a housewife and resultant proto-feminist writings revolutionized urban theory. Most of the points researchers “discovered” draw an obvious, long-overdue parallel to her observations from the 1960s. [Fast Company]
The top-nine most expensive cities for renters (NYC is second to just San Francisco in the ranking) are all in solidly blue states, with oddball Miami taking the #10 slot. But this study reveals there’s plenty of affordable housing in swing states. Frustrated Brooklyn artists: take note. We’ll thank you for moving to Toledo, Ohio (where 1 bedroom rents average $440) and voting 4 years from now. [Zumper]
Behind this kitten lurks something much more sinister.
A chrome extension that replaces pictures of Donald Trump with kittens. [Business Insider]
We’ve all seen this by now, but Russia’s ambassador to Turkey was shot while giving remarks at Contemporary Arts Center in the Cankaya area of Ankar. [The New York Times]
Andrew Russeth’s Top 10. My favorite list so far. Just the right mix of the expected and shit you didn’t even know was shown. [ARTnews]
Jonathan Jones’s Top 10. My least favorite list so far. It begins with Pablo Picasso and Hieronymus Bosch and ends with Douglas Gordon. Sure, sure on the old time-y stuff, but every contemporary art pick is tacky as hell. [The Guardian]
A look at the art on the 2nd Ave Subway line. Ugh. A tacky Vic Muniz picturing a girl and her runaway balloon. But there’s a good Chuck Close, so maybe it evens out. [The New York Times]
38 more units for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s affordable housing project. [Politico]
This staircase is Hudson Yard’s obligatory “Public Art Feature.” Or a hive for giant robot bees? Whatever.
Cubans are distributing hard drives stacked with everything from an off-line Craigslist substitute to episodes of Game of Thrones and porn to get around the island’s media isolation and communications woes. [The New Tropic]
A new study confirms that Berlin has defied expectations and continues to remain attractive to artists. Compared to other global cities, it’s still cheaper than most of Europe while still providing great social services. Its economic health, however, is about on par with the developing world according to some questionable metrics. Uh, can New York shed a few Fortune 500 companies in exchange for cheaper rent? [artnet News]
The LinkNYC kiosks will no longer be providing free internet service, because apparently New Yorkers can’t stop watching porn on them. The Giuliani-era culture wars have entered the 21st century, and the pervs have lost another battle. [New York Daily News]
Jonathan Jones weighs in on the Alec Baldwin v.s. Mary Boone debacle with an opinion predicated on the argument that all artworks by the same artist are both objectively and subjectively equal. What? How are you an art critic? [The Guardian]
That weird, dystopian Hudson Yards megaproject is getting a fittingly weird, vaguely dystopian piece of very-expensive public art. Thomas Heatherwick has designed a giant hive-like tower of staircases to nowhere that looks like it will be extremely popular for suicides when the property bubble bursts again. Or as a filming location for young adult sci-fi adaptations in which teenagers have to fight to the death to topple tyranny or something. [Dezeen]
MoMA is making thousands of photographs from its archive of exhibition images public. Be still our curatorial-nerd hearts! [The New York Times]
London is proposing to target specific neighborhoods for preservation and expansion of artist studios, housing, and creative industry jobs. Although the city has remained a center of art and design, there’s considerable fear that rampant gentrification will drive out young talent and cripple the creative sector. The plan sounds vague, but well-intentioned, especially the part about funds to help artists buy property. [City Lab]
Ayanda Mabulu’s extremely-NSFW painting of South African president Jacob Zuma… which we have censored with a Pokemon.
While giving her speech at the Republican National Convention last night, Melania Trump plagiarized an entire paragraph from Michelle Obama’s 2008 Democratic Convention speech. The campaign just straight up denies this happened. It’s insane. [CNN]
Resource for artists and professionals: Clarion List has links to things you need often like framers and things that are extremely specialised like art risk consultants. [Clarion List]
Parviz Tanavoli, the Iranian pop artist who was mysteriously detained earlier this month has had his passport returned to him and he is free to travel. He promptly left Tehran for Vancouver. [The Art Newspaper]
Wow, two days in a row we get something dumb from Jonathan Jones, what are the odds? Today, he enlightens everyone on the topic of “artwashing.” It’s a tough subject that Jones breaks down for you like this, “There is such a thing as civilisation – and it has a way of looking a bit like “gentrification.” Yes, low-income neighborhoods are uncivilized. This makes art look bad. [The Guardian]
The Prado’s Hieronymus Bosch exhibition marks one of the only times in the past five centuries that this many of the artist’s works are together in one place. Insane. [New York Post]
“When I see Ayanda Mabulu, I am going to wrap my fingers around his neck and throttle him.” -Edward Zuma, son of South African president Jacob Zuma on a painter who has criticised the administration. [News24]
17 buildings by Le Corbusier have been designated world heritage sites by UNESCO, including the the National Museum of Western Art, in Tokyo and the Unité d’habitation in Marseille. [Curbed]
Mladen Stilinović, the Croatian conceptual artist whose contributions to the tiny country’s contemporary art scene helped put it on the map, has passed away at 69. [artnet News]
The de Blasio administration has tapped Toronto’s Adam Giambrone as the new Brooklyn-Queens “Streetcar Czar”. Let’s hope Giambrone has learned what makes streetcars suck so much from Toronto’s example: trains don’t do well in mixed traffic. Seriously, every time a car double parks or hits a train the whole damn system gets held up. Why do people keep talking about streetcars like they’re the technology of the future? They made sense in the Victorian era when they didn’t have to share the road with someone’s Hummer. If this idea is going to be remotely usable in New York, they’re going to have to close the streets and give this baby signal prioritization. [Curbed]
Famed founder of Suicide and prolific poet Alan Vega has died at the age of 78. [The Quietus]
Following budget cuts and buyouts, the Met says it will begin layoffs in order to balance its budget. More than 50 people reportedly accepted the buyout offer and the Met says that layoffs will increase the total positions cut to more than 100. [New York Times]
Jonathan Jones takes a stand against all of those people who think that you can make great art by clicking a button in a photo filter app. We’re pretty sure that is practically no one, but glad he’s on the case. [The Guardian]
It turns out Damien Hirst’s work isn’t toxic after all. [The Art Newspaper]
The Contemporary Austin has established $100,000 art prize that will also include a solo show for the winner. [Artforum]
Is transrealism the first major literary movement of the 21st-century or just “Post-Internet” for books? You be the judge. [The Guardian]
The Keno Brothers, antique specialists famous for appearing on Antiques Roadshow are involved in a couple of bizarre lawsuits. Having worked at both Christie’s and Sotheby’s, one would assume the brothers would know how to handle themselves at an auction. But, on at least 3 occasions at two different auction houses, they say they didn’t realize they were bidding against each other and sending the respective item’s prices soaring. They’ve refused to pay and are being sued by different auction houses. [New York Times]
Photojournalists are packing bulletproof vests, gas masks and other war-zone type gear to get ready for the Republican National Convention. They aren’t the only ones who are worried, the head of Cleveland’s largest police union has asked for open carry laws to be suspended during the convention out of fear for officer’s lives. [Wired, CNN]
Speaking of the RNC, Jon Stewart will be rejoining Stephen Colbert as he broadcasts live from the convention this week. [CNN]
Yayoi Kusama is releasing an illustrated edition of Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Little Mermaid.” [Dazed]
John William Waterhouse, “Echo and Narcissus,” 1903.
The Wall Street Journal’s “Black Friday” guide to shopping at art fairs recommends pretty much everything that would piss off gallerists short of “touch the art”. [The Wall Street Journal]
Here’s an excellent explanation of the features and policies of suburbia that make it such a soul-crushing realm. [Quartz]
We’re relieved to hear that Kenya Michaels—the tiny Puerto Rican drag queen who won America’s hearts on Rupaul’s Drag Race and countless GIFs—escaped the shooting at Pulse in Orlando. Kenya performed at the club at midnight, and apparently managed to make it out shortly after the shooting starting. [Paper Magazine]
Jonathan Jones makes a pretty compelling argument that space photography is the best photography. [The Guardian]
WNYC has launched a new week long series discussing affordability in New York for artists, called “Making it in New York”. The first feature gives a very broad overview of the problem. Naturally, PS109, an artist only affordable workspace launched by artspace is featured, along with plenty of discussion about gentrification. [WNYC]
This year’s Art Basel First Choice VIP card gets holders exclusive access to exhibitions, private lounges, champagne toasts, brunches… and free rides on Basel’s public transit? Yep. Leave the chauffeur at home, because your little pink card is good for unlimited tram and bus rides. [artnet News]
As Art Basel approaches, the art market stories come fast and furious. Here’s a comparison between venture capitalist backed unicorns (tech start-ups valued at over 1 billion) and the art market. The take home? Evaluate the product not its monetary value. [The New Yorker]
A couple of interesting snippets from the first of a four part series on the art market produced by Artsy and UBS. First, an unidentified collector explaining that for artists, being acquired by a private collection is actually better than a museum because they give artists more show freedom than a museum would. The second being Josh Baer postulating that there are not art movements—except the art market. LOLOLOL. Does the art market really need an ad for itself? Because that’s essentially what this series is. [Artsy]
Wow. An anarchist collective that runs a live/work performance space in Detroit just beat a developer in a competition for lots adjoining their property. This is unusual good news in the gentrification wars. [Detroit Free Press]
Fiercely Independent. New York art news, reviews and culture commentary. Paddy Johnson, Editorial Director Michael Anthony Farley, Senior Editor Whitney Kimball, IMG MGMT Editor
Contact us at: paddyATartfcity.com
Another classic complaint from Jonathan Jones.
Paddy Johnson, Editorial Director![Thumbnail image for [Sponsor] The Avant/Garde Diaries: “Jonathan Jones & Cockatoo Island – Dialogue for the Future”](http://artfcity.com/wp-content/themes/thesis_17/lib/scripts/thumb.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fartfcity.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F07%2Fthumb4.jpg&w=180&h=112&zc=1&q=100)
