by Paddy Johnson Michael Anthony Farley Rea McNamara on May 25, 2016
- Wow. This Lebanese Super Brazil coffee commercial is amazing. We all need to drink some of that. [via: Metafilter]
- So this is what Silicon Valley billionaires do when they have a hate-on for media empires: they fund lawsuits to ruin them. It appears as if Hulk Hogan’s legal fees in his battle against Gawker for posting his sex tape — remember, he won $115 million, a decision Gawker’s now appealing — has been covered by Peter Thiel. The Trump delegate in California has long disliked Gawker: its tech site Valleywag outed him in 2007, and he once referred to it as “the Silicon Valley equivalent of al-Qaida.” [Guardian]
- Further, Josh Marshall weighs in on why Thiel bankrolling Hogan’s lawsuit is so disturbing: “Being able to give massive political contributions actually pales in comparison to the impact of being able to destroy a publication you don’t like by combining the machinery of the courts with anonymity and unlimited funds to bleed a publication dry.” [Talking Points Memo]
- The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) held an emergency meeting with tribal leaders, government representations and NGO officials to halt a May 30 auction in Paris that would sell off sacred indigenous objects. Organized by EVE auction house Drouot Richelieu, the auction includes an Acoma shield and a ceremonial deer from the Hoopa Valley Tribe in California. [Hyperallergic]
- Huh. Movie-star-cum-performance-artist Shia LaBeouf has embarked on his latest piece: #TAKEMEANYWHERE. The predictably designed-for-social-media-attention project involves LaBeouf hitchhiking, asking people to drop him off wherever they want, and apparently posing for lots of selfies. If you pick him up and need a place to put him, let me suggest somewhere far, far away from internet access. [Gothamist]
- Rock star auctioneer Simon de Pury is making the rounds promoting his memoir, dishing about the life he’s led. Not only did he head up Sotheby’s and Phillips, but almost died in a boat fire in the crocodile-infested Niger river. Oh, and dated Louise Blouin. Such life-threatening experiences! [Observer]
- Despite a slowing of the Chinese market, Christie’s has committed to opening an exhibition space in Beijing this fall. The exhibition space will allow permanent viewing, and joins the auction house’s Shanghai salesroom, which opened in 2013. [Art Newspaper]
- Hong Kong has been majorly investing in culture in an attempt to maintain and expand its position as a global art capital. But as authoritarian Beijing tightens its control over the island city, freedom of expression has come under attack. The latest victims of censorship are Sampson Wong and Jason Lam, who had their public artwork “Our sixty-second friendship begins now” removed from the facade of a skyscraper. The piece projected a countdown clock onto the tower, which referenced, among other things, the looming reunification of Hong Kong with the mainland. [Quartz]
- Staten Island is about to have its shore revitalized through art. Or at least that’s the plan envisioned by Design Trust for Public Space and Staten Island Arts, which has announced an intent to use art to create better public spaces, but no actual details on what they are doing. We don’t want to sound cynical, but the whole thing looks like a developer scheme to increase property value. The project has received funds from the EDC and developers like BFC Partners, Ironstate, Triangle Equities and New York Wheel and is being pitched as a collaborative effort between these parties and the arts community. [Curbed]
- Paper Magazine thinks Medellín, Colombia is poised to become one the next big art destinations. We’ve seen plenty of great Colombian artists and galleries on the art fair circuit, so even though we’ve never been there it’s a prediction we’re inclined to believe. [Paper]
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by Paddy Johnson Whitney Kimball and Corinna Kirsch on September 29, 2014
- The Studio Museum’s Thelma Golden reveals all, from being inspired by The Jeffersons to become a curator, as well as the importance of listening to artists: “I was raised as a curator by a fierce group of artists who really demanded that I understand what their work was about.” [Studio 360]
- Holland Cotter discusses the new Aspen Art Museum designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban. The shows have little relationship to the architecture, but two out of the five are good. Cotter notes that all of them are trendy and that the museum should try to do better. [The New York Times]
- Camille Henrot has won the Nam June Paik Award and will receive $32,000. [Artforum]
- Facebook launches a new ad platform that analyzes every status update you’ve made over the last five years on the network to determine which ad will be the most effective. Apparently, they will be particularly effective on mobile (a point we find hard to believe because their own app is nearly unusable). [The New York Times]
- If only I were rich. I would be clearing out the shelves on Paddle8. Brian Bellot’s sock paintings were some of the best pieces from all the Miami fairs last year; I wanted them then and I want them today. He also covered marshmallows in glitter, and they’re selling that, too. (Whitney) [Paddle8]
- It’s national coffee day, which means free coffee at places that sell disgusting coffee (Dunkin’ Donuts and McDonald’s). Editor’s note: AFC’s Corinna Kirsch likes the iced coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts. Editor’s editor’s note: The author of this link, Paddy Johnson, does not drink coffee, and therefore, is unqualified to make an assessment on said subject. [WGNtv]
- An untold story nobody needs to know: how real estate developer Harry Macklowe came up with the Apple Cube. He came up with the idea, got it past Steve Jobs and the city, made some size adjustments, and wa lah, one of the most successful retail locations in the world was born. And now we have another giant Apple Store. [New York Magazine]
- Do you hate looking at subway ads? Well, there’s an app for that. Put your phone up to a subway ad, and then the app will replace the ad with art—but you still have to look at your screen and not the actual wall. And then there’s that issue of having to look through your phone screen at the advertisement instead of doing anything else. [The New York Times]
- The Folk Museum is being demolished. Thanks, MoMA! [Curbed New York]
- Jayson Musson gave a talk at the BHQFU’s “Humor and the Abject” class last night. In case you missed it, you can still watch the livestream. Image quality isn’t too great, imo. [YouTube]
- “It Took 50,” the documentary about 90-year-old East Village housing activist Frances Goldin (whom we wrote about here), has five more days to fundraise for part two. If you want to know the story behind the plan that’s already preserving tons of affordable housing in New York City, then fund this. Plus, this woman is just incredible. [Indiegogo]
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by Paddy Johnson Clara Olshansky Ian Marshall on July 9, 2013
- The world needed this: Every mention of pie and coffee in TWIN PEAKS. [Slacktory]
- Biggest building opens in Chengdu, China, large enough to house 20 Sydney opera houses under its roof. [The Guardian]
- Edward Winkleman interviews arts journalist and blogger Tyler Green about journalism. Green thinks the old model of journalism is gone and that we should all stop bitching about it. [Edward Winkleman]
- Here’s a backwards article: Artists get more money from kickstarter than from the N.E.A., and writer Katherine Boyle writes that she isn’t surprised, because private philanthropy outpaces government support. Kickstarter campaigns aren’t philanthropy though, they’re crowdsourced funding used to support the production of products. That’s different than supporting an intangible cultural good. [Washington Post]
- Helen Marten discusses her influences. My favorite: soup and salad. [Frieze]
- Anatoly Iksanov, director of the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, was fired after a man threw acid in the art director’s face. A dancer said “that the theater has plunged into crime and violence under Iksanov’s watch.” [Huffington Post]
- Well, this is too bad. The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago has cut short a ten-week private home tour of London-based artist Amalia Pica’s small granite sculpture on July 1. It’s assumed the piece was damaged in transit, but no details have been given. [Chicago Magazine]
- The Do It interactive show at Manchester Gallery features work from Louise Bourgeois, Ai Wei Wei, Gibert & George, and Yoko Ono, among others, that tells you what to do. Most edicts are relatively frivolous, nothing despotic [The Guardian]
- Making Room opens at the Museum of the City of New York, offering design solutions to cramped New York apartment living. [Hyperallergic]
- A record rainfall has left Toronto streets flooded. Their subway, which was shut down yesterday due to the rain, has started running again, but the city has yet to fully recover with many roads still blocked. Porter airlines was forced to cancel all flights yesterday after the airport lost power. [Globe and Mail]
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