How the Louvre Codified Essentialism in Art History
The art historical meta-narrative canonized by the Louvre Museum converts all artworks into specimens of their cultural moment. No wall tag can fix this.
The South African Art Collective That Imagined the End of Apartheid
In 1978, Serote and Thamsanqa (Thami) Mnyele founded the Medu Art Ensemble, an art collective that advocated for an end to the South African apartheid government through creative expression —…
Artists Demand Removal of Their Works From Aichi Trienniale in Open Letter
The exhibition After ‘Freedom of Expression?’ was meant to probe Japan’s history of art censoring and celebrate artworks that had been previously excluded from museums in Japan. It was shuttered…
Chicago Welcomes Its First Art Book Fair
The inaugural Chicago Art Book Fair, dedicated to small press arts publishing, is set in an unexpected swanky setting.
How Abandoned and Eroding Victorian Mansions of the Gilded Age Came to Symbolize Impending Doom
In a portentous video essay for Vox, producer Coleman Lowndes explains why the highly decorated, overly trimmed Victorian mansions (McMansions of their time) of the Gilded Age went from being…
Vintage Halloween Cards Are the Stuff of Nightmares
Anthropomorphic pumpkins, mirror divination, and space-traveling witches all appear in the curious collision of imagery on vintage Halloween cards. {read}
After Charlottesville, an Anti-Fascist US Military Film from 1947 Goes Viral
The 17-minute film, “Don’t Be a Sucker,” offers some timely advice in light of recent events — though it hasn’t aged perfectly by any means.