Archive of Will Brand

AFC Editor-in-Chief Will Brand is a Brooklyn-based writer, programmer, and artist, who joined Art Fag City in the fall of 2010 after finishing his MSc in Art History at the University of Edinburgh. His main interests lie in net art and criticism, but he does a bit of everything around a blog (a sad consequence of web development skills). He’s also written for The L and CityArts, and his work has been republished in Junk Jet and on The Creators Project.

Will has written 126 article(s) for AFC.

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Will Brand

SCOPE: How Not To Do Things

by Will Brand on April 11, 2012
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This morning we got an email from someone interested in creating a “truthful, informed presence for the SCOPE fair online”, which sounded like a nice objective. Then they asked us to take down articles we’ve written about SCOPE sucking, and that didn’t sound very nice at all!

In the full post, a helpful guide to insulting a writer’s professionalism and honesty.

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Links! How Not to Curate, Promote

by Will Brand on March 28, 2012

  • The Indianapolis Museum of Art scored a bit of a coup last year when curator Lisa Freiman was chosen to curate the American Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. How best to cash in? By straight-up cashing in, hiring Freiman out as an art consultant to a museum trustee. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re doing anything immoral; “immoral” would be if Freiman recommended a trustee buy up an artist immediately before they got a show at the museum. Except, yeah, that happened too. [BLOUINTyler BLOUINGreen]
  • Felix Salmon has a good piece at Reuters examining the secondary market (or lack thereof) for Damien Hirst. Salmon argues that Hirst has created a market largely based around himself as seller, limiting opportunities for resale and generally acting more like Prada than Richter. The finale: “Collectors are not getting rich off [Hirst’s] work. But he is.” [Reuters]
  • Wandering around Wikipedia last night, we came across some wikipromotion for Shaikh Rashid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, the artistic one amongst the Bahraini royal family. It’s a heroic biography. Read about his development of Individualism (it ends in -ism, it’s serious guys), his early interest in horses, and his time as the Undersecretary of Immigration. Listen, we’re not saying you can’t do a little self-promotion, but this is over the top. Besides which, you’re a Shaikh—there’s gotta be a better way. Remember when Phillips de Pury put on a show with Leyla Aliyeva, the daughter of Azerbaijan’s dictator? Get on board that train! [Wikipedia]
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The Glowing Ass Forest and Other Highlights from the Dependent Fair

by Will Brand on March 14, 2012
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Last year, I wrote that “despite the chaos, it's difficult to see the Dependent as anything but a success.” This year, I'm willing to go a bit further: The Dependent Art Fair was, hands-down, the most interesting, highest-quality fair in town.

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Armory Show Bingo: The More Things Change…

by Will Brand on March 9, 2012
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Good news: your Armory Bingo cards from last year are apparently still valid. Without changing a single square, we had Bingo within half an hour of walking in the door. The basic trend for Armory Show art—stuff cats like, like mirrors and motion and bright lights—is alive and well, and a few of last year’s micro-trends managed some unexpected longevity. We break down how well each trend square did this year, with pictures.

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Two Possibilities for the Sold-Out Cover Art from Bill Powers’ Book.

by Will Brand on March 6, 2012
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The Richard Prince-designed cover to Bill Powers’ new book went on sale at noon today as an edition of 100. Thirty minutes later, it had sold out. We’re suspicious.

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Free Bouncy Rides, at No Charge: Your AFCRPAAaA* Entertainment

by Will Brand on February 21, 2012
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If you know anything at all about the AFCRPAAaA*, you know we aren’t going to pull punches with the entertainment. We’re very pleased to announce that exclusively for the AFCRPAAaA*, Nate Hill will be performing his Free Bouncy Rides, one last time, this Thursday night.

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A Golden Pig Fountain and Fresh-Picked Silver Fruit: Your AFCRPAAaA* Dinner

by Will Brand on February 21, 2012
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As Napoleon said, an army marches on its stomach. So how are we planning to keep our brigades moving this Thursday, at the Art Fag City Rob Pruitt Awards and Auction*? With an aerial pig fountain and a tree of golden meat. It’s the latest performance from Jen Catron and Paul Outlaw, and it has us psyched.

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