- “So, we’re American. And when the enemies of the US want to strike at US symbols, they now strike at us! LGBT equality would seem to be another American export than can be resented and attacked as American. For anyone used to being an pariah, this will take some getting used to.” In 2008, Skylar Fein’s “Remember the UpStairs Lounge” showed at New Orleans’ Prospect.1 biennial. The installation recreated aspects of the popular 1970s gay bar that was tragically set fire by an arsonist and killed 32 people. In light of Orlando, Hrag Vartanian revisits the work, and talks with the artist about the US’s complicated history of anti-LGBTQ violence. [Hyperallergic]
- A change of guard: Barbara M. Vogelstein will succeed Elizabeth A. Sackler as chair of of the Brooklyn Museum’s board of trustees. Vogelstein has three decades experience in private equity investing, and served on the institution’s board from 2001-2010 and then again since 3015. Vogelstein was involved in the search for the museum’s new director, and she and her husband endowed the museum’s contemporary art curator position in 2005. [Artforum]
- Adrian Searle glowingly reviews the Switchhouse, the Tate Modern’s new extension. The off kilter pyramid matches Herzog & de Meuron’s original conversion of Bankside power station into contemporary art gallery in 2000. And the show’s pretty good! Actual conversations between art works occur. [The Guardian]
- Rose Eveleth just launched a new column exploring design bias in medical research and products. First up, artificial hearts. Even though women are more likely to die on transplant lists, artificial hearts aren’t designed for them — in fact, an artificial heart typically fits 80% of men and only 20% of women. [Motherboard]
- London’s public transportation system has a new screen-friendly typeface. The new typeface, a revamp of the original 100 year old Johnson typeface, has a lighter weight made for mobile reading, while retaining certain idiosyncrasies like the “bulbous ‘U’”. [The Verge]
- Yes, this happened today: UK Independent Party leader Nigel Farage and Bob Geldof had a boat war on the Thames. The Brexit debate just got real. [Telegraph]
- Merray Gerges chats with Montreal’s GothShakira, who has been getting a lot of media traction for her intersectional feminist image macros on Instagram. [Canadian Art]
- By 2020, the New York skyline will look f-ugly. Get ready for skyscrapers—a rendering by CityReality. [Curbed]
- The International Association of Art Critics has announced that this year’s winner of AICA Incentive Award for Young Critics, will receive a trip to Havana, Cuba, to attend the AICA Congress this October. Submit a review by July 29th. [AICA via: ARTnews]
- At the VIP opening of the new Tate Modern opening, over 150 feminist activists protested the institution’s decision to show work by Carl Andre, chanting “oi Tate, we’ve got a vendetta, where the fuck is Ana Mendieta?”. Organized by the WHEREISANAMENDIETA movement, the protesters are decrying the exhibition of Andre’s work — not to mention the failure to show Mendieta’s work in the same space, even though the Tate has five works in storage — as a glorification of violent men within the art institution. [Dazed]
- Talk about exploitation: Jenny Lorenzo and Brittany Ashley, both popular producers/personalities for Buzzfeed’s Motion Pictures company, were fired for appearing in “Gente-Fied”, a web series produced by actor America Ferrera. Why? Because Lorenzo and Ashley apparently breached the non-compete clause in their contracts. Even though non-compete agreements are fairly common in tech and engineering jobs, digital media companies like Buzzfeed are now adopting them. It’s a backwards revival of the old Hollywood studio system, back when stars signed ironclad 7-year contracts. [Politico]
- Breaking: Bloomberg’s art market reporter Katya Kazakina confirms billionaire Leon Black has won ownership of Picasso’s “Bust of a Woman” plaster sculpture. At the center of an international legal drama between Gagosian and the Qatari royal family, the dispute stemmed from Picasso’s daughter, Maya Widmaeier-Picasso, selling the work not once but twice to both parties. [@artdetective]
- Art Basel reports are coming in: Dealers are bringing their best work to counter-act the narrative that says the market is down. [ARTnews]
