Lady Gaga undergoing the Abramovic method.
- The dumbest spat and coverage of it in the history of all art-world bullshit: Marina Abramovic is eating her words after complaining that Jay Z failed to make a promised donation to her performance art institute in exchange for her appearance in his “Picasso Baby” video. By the end of the day, artnet News had spoken with Salon 94, who shared the donation number on Jay Z’s donation receipt, and the Marina Abramovic Institute had issued a statement apologizing to both Marina Abramovic and Shawn “Jay Z” Carter for failing to notify Abramovic about the donation. None of the reports even bothered to mention that complaints like this do little more than make potential donors nervous about giving. The only significant question to come out of all this is how many other celebrities she’s charged for their “collaboration.” Did Lady Gaga pay for the privilege of being in her Kickstarter video, too? [The Internet]
- Anyone else confused by this sentence? “Originally meant for diarrhea-stricken kids, the electrolyte drink Pedialyte has gained a reputation as a hangover cure—enough that one-third of its buyers are adults.” I rarely see toddlers handing over an AmEx in the checkout line, so I’d sure hope that more than one-third of buyers are adults. [Lifehacker]
- In case you need it, here’s a list of all of New York’s public bathrooms. [Brooklyn Magazine]
- Peter Burr’s “Cave Exits” might be one of the best installations I’ve seen this year and sadly it was only open for a week. This interview about the his immersive exhibition inspired by “The Zone” from Andrei Tarkovsky’s film Stalker gives a little shape to the piece for those who missed it. [Hopes and Fears]
- South-African artist and activist Zanele Muholi discusses her current exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum and the importance of coming out in a country that’s actively hostile to the LGBT community. [DIS Magazine]
- The mayor of Ferguson, Missouri has announced that a memorial in the likeness of a dove will be installed in the location where Michael Brown was shot. Over fears of vandalism, the dove will take the form of a plaque rather than a monument. People are awful. [The Hill via the Associated Press]
- The Whitney’s old Breuer building is empty, and its new owner, the Met, has a plan to deal with that: keep the building closed and commission a sound walk by John Luther Adams between the two museums! So, I guess the plan doesn’t have anything to do with the museum’s closed doors. [Vulture]
- Paper Monument is looking for a new manager. [Paper Monument]
- Tweet of the day:
Nobody has money to pay for journalism. But they do have money to pay publicists to promote Red Nose Day. Whatever the hell that is.
— Carolina A. Miranda (@cmonstah) May 20, 2015
- Art orgs banding together: Pig Iron Theatre Company, a 20-year-old Philadelphia performance company, will begin a partnership with the University of the Arts to offer an MFA degree in “devised performance.” [The Inquirer]
- Looks like real-estate and art tycoon Aby Rosen won’t have his way with the Four Seasons restaurant at the Seagram Building. New York City’s Landmarks Commission has nixed Rosen’s proposal to make changes to the restaurant’s interior. The commissioners did allow Rosen one win: he can put in new carpeting. [The New York Times]
