Tag Archive "ai-weiwei"
Gotta read–more books for you
Photography is king, if the measure is to be found in Art in America’s annotated list of the top 12 books of the year. Of 12 books, five of them are photography books!! Not that I’m declaring painting dead. Just saying, photography is transcendent. Another sign of the times and the shifting impact of technology on art is MIT’s book reprinting a selection of posts from Ai Weiwei’s blog. At this Occupy and Arab Spring moment, the Chinese artist’s views seem more international and more widely relevant than ever! The list is by artist/critic Stephen Maine, who writes for artcritical.com ... More » »
Hive/Cave at Pageant: Soloveev
By Dennis D’Alesandro Hive/Cave, a group show containing more than 35 artists at Pageant : Soloveev through July 17, sees Philadelphia as the breeding grounds for a disparate collection of insect-like hives where busy artists shack up and take shelter. Once settled in these spaces, they are able to simmer, grow, collect, and spit out their art like sugary vomit to nourish their neighbors and children.
A Present Absence: Ai Weiwei in London
It was rather ominous to see, a few weeks ago, a group of twelve wrapped sculptures populate the courtyard of Somerset House (a neoclassical building in Central London that once housed The Royal Academy and now is home to The Courtauld Institute and various art events). Ominous because their creator, Ai Weiwei, had himself been under wraps, imprisoned by the Chinese police and not heard from since the beginning of April (recently, he has been allowed a a visit from his wife). Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads is both the first contemporary art installation in the historic courtyard and the first ... More » »
News roundup – West Collection and Tiger Strikes to move, Jennifer Levonian to talk and Ai Wei Wei’s Slought connection
Imagine the Rubell Collection or the Scholl Collection, two of Miami’s premier private museums, right here in Philadelphia. We just learned that The West Collection is actively searching for a big space for displaying some of the larger pieces in their fabulous and expanding collection of contemporary art. We bumped into the Director Lee Stoetzel at the Fairmount Park Art Association’s annual meeting, and he confirmed the organization’s interest in finding a space large enough to display some of the collection’s larger pieces. They’ve been looking in Northern Liberties he said. West is the Barnes of today, integrating its edgy ... More » »
Two exhibition catalogs: ‘The Making of Art’ and ‘Painting Under Attack’
The Making of Art (Buchhandlung Walther Koenig: Cologne, 2009) ISBN 978-3-86560-586-3 Target Practice; Painting Under Attack 1949-78 (Seattle Art Museum, 2009) ISBN 978-0-932216-64-9 Those of us involved in the art world never seem to tire of looking critically at the way that world works. Self reflection has been the basis of a number of exhibitions in recent years; I saw two devoted to artists’ studios: The Studio at the Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane (discussed on Jan. 3, 2007) and Picturing the Studio at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2009-10). The Making of Art, at the ... More » »
Ai Weiwei on Twittering
Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei spoke in New York the other day at a forum about social media and activism. The artist rarely makes an appearance in the US. Read David Ng’s post at Culture Monster for more. Ai said he spends 8 hours a day on Twitter, both tweeting and reading other people’s tweets. He considers Twitter his primary news resource. Libby told you about Ai’s work, which is featured now in a solo show at Arcadia University.
Clay shows begin–Ai Weiwei at Arcadia; bodies at the Mutter
Just when you thought that you were finally making headway through the riches of the Philagrafika shows, 90 clay shows and events are starting to open all around town. The multiple shows are in conjunction with the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) conference in Philadelphia from March 21 to April 3. I went to two that were early off the blocks, and they are as different as can be.
Report from Documenta 12: some details
Post by Andrea Kirsh [This is part 2 of a two-parter. Part one is here.] Romuald Hazoume Self-Portrait 1995 made of plastic container. All photographs in this post by Andrea Kirsh. Documenta XII’s curators were extremely catholic in their taste: abstract as well as figurative painting, sculpture and photography; video, textiles and installations; sixteenth-century Persian calligraphy and a post-card of a Manet painting (yes, a post card, of his 1867 view of the Universal Exposition in Paris, hung in a vitrine and labeled like any other work in the exhibition). In addition to a particularly international roster of artists, they ... More » »
