Image via The Associated Press
- In boobs news, in a recent baptism speech, the Pope expressly welcomed mothers to breastfeed in the Sistine Chapel. “Give them milk,” the speech originally read, which the Pope changed to “breastfeed them”. [Wonkette]
- “Is the New York Art Scene Doomed?” Yes, Ben Davis thinks. “In essence, the traditional relationship between suburb and city in American life is reversing.” I’ve drawn the same conclusion, though think that the bluechips are likely to remain where the money is. He’s guessing Detroit will be the next haven. I’d add the Catskills. [artnet News]
- War has been waged over Ryder Ripps’ upcoming show “Art Ho” at Postmasters, which references heroic Ab/Ex gestures while smearing images of model Adrienne Ho. Dissidents are offended by yet another male appropriation of beauty. Defenders have called free speech. We’ve made our views known. [Facebook]
- Another forgery in a museum story. [artnet News]
- How is Carolina Miranda so good at her job? Here’s an amazing interview with Tania Bruguera, the Cuban artist arrested recently for an attempted performance about free speech in Cuba. Read all of it. [Culture: High & Low]
- This is so fucked up. Worried that he didn’t have enough problems of his own to make good art, artist Joseph Gibbons, a former visiting professor at Bard and an instructor at MIT started creating them. He made two films on drug addiction and started robbing banks for “research” purposes. The stick up is bizarre: he points a camcorder at a teller and politely hands the person a note demanding a donation for his church. Exactly what threat, if any, is made in the note is unclear. [The New York Post]
- Music critic Sasha Frere-Jones is leaving The New Yorker to work for Genuis.com. [Gawker]
- Wow, Christopher Glazek’s annotation of his New York Times Magazine profile on Stefan Simchowitz is amazing. It sources statements in response to the piece by its subjects and responds point by point. If you’ve been following this story, reading the annotation is incredibly satisfying. [Genius]
- One of our past contributors John Gawarecki-Maxwell on the conspiracy surrounding the Illuminati in WWE, and conspiracy theories in general. An entertaining read, even for those of us who don’t get the references. [Prowrestling.cool]
- The dialogue continues on A Blade of Grass responding to our follow-up reporting on the Gramsci Monument. Lex Brown, who was a teacher at the monument throughout its run, feels that the Monument was something to be experienced and not analyzed with the standard critical remove. “It was a remarkable idea that came to successful fruition, through real love and real work, and beyond all the restrictions of society, identity, and politics. That reality of love and work needs to be celebrated and elevated.” [A Blade of Grass]
- If artists are now aligning and identifying with small businesses (as Ben Davis and others have been advocating), then there’s a petition on Change.org calling for Mayor de Blasio to support the Small Businesses Jobs Survival Act. [Change.org]
