John William Waterhouse, “Echo and Narcissus,” 1903.
- The Wall Street Journal’s “Black Friday” guide to shopping at art fairs recommends pretty much everything that would piss off gallerists short of “touch the art”. [The Wall Street Journal]
- Here’s an excellent explanation of the features and policies of suburbia that make it such a soul-crushing realm. [Quartz]
- We’re relieved to hear that Kenya Michaels—the tiny Puerto Rican drag queen who won America’s hearts on Rupaul’s Drag Race and countless GIFs—escaped the shooting at Pulse in Orlando. Kenya performed at the club at midnight, and apparently managed to make it out shortly after the shooting starting. [Paper Magazine]
- Jonathan Jones makes a pretty compelling argument that space photography is the best photography. [The Guardian]
- WNYC has launched a new week long series discussing affordability in New York for artists, called “Making it in New York”. The first feature gives a very broad overview of the problem. Naturally, PS109, an artist only affordable workspace launched by artspace is featured, along with plenty of discussion about gentrification. [WNYC]
- This year’s Art Basel First Choice VIP card gets holders exclusive access to exhibitions, private lounges, champagne toasts, brunches… and free rides on Basel’s public transit? Yep. Leave the chauffeur at home, because your little pink card is good for unlimited tram and bus rides. [artnet News]
- As Art Basel approaches, the art market stories come fast and furious. Here’s a comparison between venture capitalist backed unicorns (tech start-ups valued at over 1 billion) and the art market. The take home? Evaluate the product not its monetary value. [The New Yorker]
- A couple of interesting snippets from the first of a four part series on the art market produced by Artsy and UBS. First, an unidentified collector explaining that for artists, being acquired by a private collection is actually better than a museum because they give artists more show freedom than a museum would. The second being Josh Baer postulating that there are not art movements—except the art market. LOLOLOL. Does the art market really need an ad for itself? Because that’s essentially what this series is. [Artsy]
- Wow. An anarchist collective that runs a live/work performance space in Detroit just beat a developer in a competition for lots adjoining their property. This is unusual good news in the gentrification wars. [Detroit Free Press]
