George W. Bush, “Sgt Michael Joseph Leonard Politowicz”
- Joshua David Stein grapples with the uncomfortable weirdness of George W. Bush’s painting career. Bush’s latest artistic endeavor, a monograph of portraits he’s painted of disabled veterans, is especially complicated: “Bush became a painter and his subjects were the very men torn to shreds, quite literally, by his own policy.” It feels so wrong to admit that at least the one image from the series is really compelling. [The Guardian]
- Neighbors for More Neighbors, a project from artists Ryan Johnson and John Edwards, is part of the growing YIMBY movement. The crux of YIMBYism is that decades of NIMBY concerns over density and new development have made cities ridiculously expensive by restricting supply of real estate. The basic logic behind this argument is that downzoning or blocking building height increases drives up the cost of living—when neighbors oppose rezoning for taller buildings which usually include affordable housing, for example, all that gets built are less dense luxury condos for the few. Comparing the respective housing situations in booming cities such as Denver and San Francisco is a good case study in this theory. [Curbed]
- We all knew the art market was top-heavy, but this is ridiculous. Andrew Fabricant, director of Richard Gray Gallery, claims that two Asian collectors are pretty much single-handedly propping up the auction market. [Observer]
- Wow. Nate Freeman has written the definitive guide to Ivanka Trump’s art world involvements—from her supporters’ death threats against Halt Action Group artists to the Trump team’s numerous connections with Artsy. This is a good read. [ARTnews]
- Speaking of (in)famous people’s offspring, this has to be the weirdest all-star, multigenerational collaboration by children of celebrities. Apparently Carrie Fisher and Sean Lennon wrote a song together, which Lennon recorded with Willow Smith as a tribute following the actress’s death. [E Online]
- The Gardiner Museum in Toronto is hiring a chief curator. If you have eight years of curating experience working in the field of ceramics and a PHD, this could be a job for you. [Work in Culture]
- Watching the Republicans try to come up with (and pass) an Affordable Care Act repeal-and-replace plan is like a room full of monkeys with typewriters, if the monkeys had just smashed the typewriters and then were frustratedly trying to jam all the pieces back together into something that resembled a typewriter. [The Washington Post]
- Art world headline of the day: “Get Your Selfie Judged by Tracey Emin and Juergen Teller”. [artnet News]
- Ronald Hollar drunk-drove his car into “Spectral Liberation”, a beloved piece of decades-old public art in Des Moines, Iowa. It’s estimated he caused nearly a quarter of $1 million in damage. [KCII]
- Billionaire Dan Gilbert moved his company, Quicken Loans, to Detroit and commissioned a few public art projects to help “beautify” the city. What a hero. It seems the point of this article, if there is one at all, is to point out that Gilbert believes artists play a role in rejuvenating (read gentrifying) cities. None of Gilbert’s projects are even discussed though. We’re genuinely confused about why this article even exists. [Forbes]
- Ooooh. Giovanni Garci-Fenech interviews Martin Herbert on his new book about artists who leave the art world. [Hyperallergic]
