“Is Terry Richardson an Artist or a Predator?” NY Mag follows Terry Richardson around and gives a thorough report on his skeezy, idiotic past. It’s a good primer on all the various lawsuits against him. [The Cut]
The Frick is getting supersized; Peter Schjeldahl approves. The position reads as arbitrary. [The New Yorker]
Joe Scanlan is a white male artist who hires black female actors to play his character Donelle Woolford, a hot young artist who gets a leg up in the art world because of her race. Needless to say, when “Donelle Woolford” was asked to participate in the Whitney Biennial, this led to a slew of protests; Yams, a mostly queer black artist/poet/musician collective, even withdrew from the Biennial. Now Ryan Wong claims that he is Joe Scanlan, and the character was created to deflect this kind of rampant deafness. We gather that this is a joke since Scanlan has a faculty bio on Yale’s website, but Wong’s analysis of Scanlan’s “apology” letter sounds familiar. [Hyperallergic]
Speaking of Joe Scanlan, Carolina Miranda’s epic summary is the last word on the Donelle Woolford. Her thorough, even-handed report includes some interesting quotes from Jennifer Kidwell, who plays Woolford, and has otherwise almost been left out of the debate entirely. [LA Times]
MoMA has added a downloadable app to its design collection; Bjork’s 2011 album “Biophilia” which was made available as an app with visualizations too. [Culture: High & Low]
This year alone, Germany doubled government funding for recovering Nazi-looted art to to 4 million Euros. [Deutsche Welle]
Jerry Saltz on zombie abstraction. Meh, we’ve all been talking about how process-based abstraction has taken over the art world for a while. Not too much new here. [Vulture]
Karen Rosenberg is amazed at Kara Walker’s curatorial ability because she likes both music and art. Rosenberg writes: “Who else would think to compare the Notorious B.I.G.’s ‘Ten Crack Commandments’ and F. T. Marinetti’s ‘Manifesto of Futurism,’ as she does in her introduction to ‘Ruffneck Constructivists’?” [New York Times]
The Joan Mitchell Foundation has created a new artists’ retreat in New Orleans! But wait: The facilities still need to be built and will cost approximately $16.5 million. [Nonprofit Quarterly]
Two Trees Cultural Space Subsidy Program is open to non-profits and artists with a strong exhibition record. The spaces are located in DUMBO and are offered at $12 per foot per year, with a three-year lease. That’s well below market. [Two Trees]
Yesterday, Paddy Johnson interviewed the Theo Westenberger Estate, which is giving out tons of money and resources for artists. (Photographers, we’re talking to you.) They’ve just announced the that Gaea Woods is the winner of their 2014 photo contest, which gives out $5,000 in unrestricted funds. [Facebook]
A baby elephant playing with an elephant-sized soccer ball.
Carol Vogel reports that hedge fund manager of SAC and bullish art collector Steven A. Cohen will sell about $80 million worth of works he recently acquired through private collections. His company’s recent deal with the government to plead guilty to securities fraud is said not to have informed the decision. “Ever the trader, Mr. Cohen is also taking advantage of today’s active art market where new collectors will often pay far more for artworks than they are worth.” [The New York Times]
In response to a conversation over Twitter about the aforementioned article, Greg Allen updated the Greater Fool Theory on Wikipedia to include the art market, using Steven Cohen as the example. [Wikipedia]
Miley Cyrus dry humps a wrecking ball. We have Terry Richardson to thank for that video and photoshoot. She’s also sharing her Halloween porn pumpkins on instagram. Trick or Treat! [The Superficial]
The Toronto Sun has taken to trolling artists. Killjoy Kastle, a lesbian haunted house that features a room of severed penises and a mock-ball busting room, has sparked an op-ed in the guise of reporting on how Canadian tax dollars are being misspent. We’re talking 500 bucks. Allyson Mitchell, the artist behind the project, refused to allow The Sun entry into the haunted house. [The Toronto Sun]
USC’s Roski School of Fine Arts is hiring two part-time lecturers and two tenure track position. [USC via The Baer Faxt]
What a lead, “Art Toronto isn’t anyone’s favorite fair, but it’s the one we have.” Looks like we weren’t the only ones underwhelmed with this fair. [BlouinArtInfo]
Here’s a baby moved to tears by the sound of his mother singing. [The Huffington Post]
A.I.R. Gallery is inviting artists to apply to their biennial fundraiser. It’s a celebration of women! This year, they’ve named an award after yours truly—THE PADDY JOHNSON PRIZE. Ladies, get your jpgs ready. 40 bucks to apply. [NYFA]
Look out publishing world: The home furnishing company Restoration Hardware (now RH) is releasing a quarterly pub, RH Contemporary Art Journal. This follows the Times’ September profile of RH’s plans to open a Chelsea gallery this November, which discussed about company’s Orwellian leadership. Company president, Gary Friedman, “compares himself to the Roman architect Vitruvius and enjoys alliterative euphemisms. RH is not a company, it’s a “cause.” It’s not about profits, but “purpose”; not about brand, but “beliefs.” Employees are referred to as “team members,” and the marketing department is called the “truth group.” [New York Times Magazine]
Fiercely Independent. New York art news, reviews and culture commentary. Paddy Johnson, Editorial Director Michael Anthony Farley, Senior Editor Whitney Kimball, IMG MGMT Editor
Contact us at: paddyATartfcity.com