Archive of Rhett Jones

Rhett has written 41 article(s) for AFC.

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Rhett Jones

A Brief History of Autechre’s Album Covers

by Rhett Jones on August 5, 2016

I’ve always hated minimalism. I don’t think that’s a blanket statement I’d make about any other artistic movement but I hate minimalism. From my perspective, it was audacious for like a year, and then it was decoration. This hatred even extends to minimalist design for the most part, though I can occasionally be persuaded to appreciate a nice, functional spice rack. But, I’ve always loved the tension between the experimental electronic music duo Autechre’s stark album packaging and dense, maximal music.

Throughout their 30-year career, the experimental electronic music duo Autechre (Sean Booth and Rob Brown) has been subverting expectations of what an album in the genre looks like. And as their music became more complex and structurally more in line with sound art and noise, they’ve crafted an uber-minimal visual identity.

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Friday Links: Creepy Dolls and Trolling Grandmas

by Rhett Jones on August 5, 2016

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This little girl used face swap with her doll. Nightmare fuel. [IMGUR]
The 90-year-old German woman who filled in the crossword puzzle Fluxus piece by Arthur Köpcke is now claiming (via her lawyer) copyright-protection for the “collaborative work” that she enhanced by completing. You really should read the full statement, this woman’s lawyer is hilarious. [Ars Technica]
Music producer Swizz Beatz is bringing his No Commission Art Fair to the Bronx. The fair provides free exhibition space and gives 100% of profits to the artist. The inaugural edition that was held in Miami featured 35 artists and sold over $1m in art. [artnet News]
Recently, President Obama became the first sitting president to publish an academic paper. Now, he’s published an article in Glamour about what feminism means to him. Will post-Presidency Obama become a blogger? We hope so. [Glamour]
Rhizome is looking to hire a software curator and an assistant curator of net art. If you’re the type of person who’s qualified for that, this is a rare opportunity. [Rhizome]
A very interesting piece about the culture and politics of the contemporary art scene in Brazil. It’s a thorough look at a place that’s going to be in the news a lot in the coming weeks. [Even Magazine]
This is some bullshit. The International Olympics Committee has expressly forbidden press from making animated GIFs. [The Verge]
Not one, but TWO art detective stories: The first is the story of how Arthur Brand tracked down lost masterpieces by Dali and Tamara de Lempicka. The second is a look at how researchers used a particle accelerator to identify a portrait beneath the surface of Degas’s “Portrait of a Woman.” [The Independent, The Guardian]
Speaking of art history researchers, a new documentary that goes behind the scenes with the people who study Bosch is opening today. It looks great. [YouTube]
Even though the museum is still facing millions of dollars in deficits and undergoing layoffs, the Met announced that its had record attendance this year. [The New York Times]

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Thursday Links: Gun Violence Solutions?

by Rhett Jones on August 4, 2016

After a year-long campaign by the activist group New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, Apple has replaced its revolver emoji with a squirt gun. I guess that’s progress. [Hyperallergic]
Architects are also trying their hands at curbing gun violence. Spurred by terrorist attacks and mass shootings, a new interest in safety and making people feel safer has arisen in the architecture community. Phrases like “natural surveillance” are a little unnerving but the focus on making people feel less isolated seems like a step in the right direction. [Motherboard]
Antiques have declined in overall value by 45% since 2002 so antique fairs are jumping into the contemporary art market. [The Guardian]
That guy who made the art pricing app filled with stolen images and data says it will be coming back. His argument is that many of the images are user generated and that no one is calling for Instagram to be taken down. It’s true, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram etc are billion dollar businesses built on copyright violation. This guy’s still kind of a jackass though. [The Art Newspaper]
Looks like Moscow’s Garage museum is putting that VICE money to use. It will expand to a second location on New Holland Island in St. Petersburg. [ArtNews]
An inspired journalist from The Hollywood Reporter has answered the question of how tiny Donald Trump’s hands are. The exclusive information was obtained by walking down to Madame Tussaud’s and measuring Trump’s wax figure. So now, dear reader, you too can compare your hands to Donald Trump’s. They’re pretty tiny. For a 6’ 2”, 200 pound man, they’re very tiny. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Bill Viola is set to install a second video work at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. The work, entitled “Mary,” will be a companion piece to Viola’s Martyrs (Earth, Air, Fire, Water) from 2014. [The Art Newspaper]
Jens Hoffman is leaving his position as deputy director at the Jewish Museum. He’ll still handle special exhibitions and will be working with other institutions. [ArtNews]
Photographer Jeff Wall is joining go-go-Gagosian after spending 25 years with Marian Goodman. [New York Times]

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NEW INC’s “Public Beta” Showcase Is Incubating Something Weird

by Rhett Jones on July 29, 2016

It’s been about 35 years since we were first promised a viable, commercial virtual reality headset. The time for that promise to be fulfilled seems to be upon us with major technology companies going all in on the research and infrastructure that will be necessary to make it happen both as a technology and a product.

NEW INC, the New Museum’s ambitious effort to fuse artist residencies, coworking spaces and business incubators into one singular program, has had two years to become a fully-formed innovation. It’s tough to say whether that’s happened yet, but the latest “Public Beta” (on through July 31st, part 2 will run from August 4-7th) is certainly different than any exhibition going right now and indicates that what’s to come could be a weird and original niche between several disciplinary worlds.

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Friday Links: Billionaire Museums and Taco Bell Artists

by Rhett Jones on July 29, 2016

Eric Wesley’s converted Taco Bell gallery. Photo: Eric Wesley

Tomilson Hill is opening his own private museum in Chelsea on West 24th street. The Hill Art Foundation will be a two-story, 6,400-square-foot space that currently does not plan to charge admission. The collection is estimated to be worth $800 million and consists of stalwart contemporary artists like Christopher Wool and Richard Prince as well as Renaissance and Baroque bronzes. [New York Times]
Eric Wesley was looking for something in between New York and Los Angeles that would reinvigorate his art practice and allow him to use alternative space. What he found was an abandoned Taco Bell in Cahokia, Illinois. The renovated fast food joint operates as a gallery, installation and workspace.[Chicago Tribune]
Manhattan art consultant, Lacey Doyle, was arrested on Thursday. She is accused of using overseas bank accounts to hide millions of dollars she received from a family inheritance. Doyle is out on bail and faces up to six years in prison. [New York Daily News]
Stephen Hawking explains his belief that Brexit signals a need for society to change its relationship with money. He believes that we need to refocus on “cathedral projects,” meaning the type of initiatives that only serve the purpose of cultural good rather than short term profit. [The Guardian]
The original film from 1954 has long been understood to be an allegory for the birth of atomic weaponry and it looks like Godzilla is returning to its political roots. Kotaku’s man in Japan explains how the film is actually about the rise of right-wing militarization that is currently sweeping the country. Unfortunately, it seems, the film spends the bulk of its time with politicians arguing and doesn’t have enough giant lizard. [Kotaku]
The Detroit Institute of Arts is planning to better reflect the demographics of its home city by expanding its collection of African-American art. [Hyperallergic]
Following the release of a 2016 sales report that was relatively grim, three top executives have left Christie’s auction house. It’s unclear if the two events are related. [artnet News]
Leonardo da Vinci expert Mario Taddei explains why Dan Brown’s conspiracy theories about The Last Supper are probably bullshit and positions the painting as following proper traditions for the scene. Taddei says the most notable break from tradition is simply da Vinci’s choice to paint the apostles without a halo, indicating that they were just common men. [Smithsonian Magazine]
Found Art: Russian man crashes truck full of yellow paint and reconsiders his life. [YouTube]

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This Week’s Must See Events: Fear and Loathing in the Art World

by Rhett Jones on July 25, 2016

Politics, politics, politics. Practically every event we have this week has some sort of political edge. From a video art retrospective dedicated to the political conventions of 1972 to Martha Wilson invading the persona of Trump, the campaign season is infiltrating the exhibition space.

Take a break from being yelled at on Facebook by someone you’ve only met once and hit the gallery. People will surely be more open to a dialogue when they can’t just click unfollow. Right? Right???

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