The Easel

3rd October 2017

Why the Guggenheim’s Controversial Dog Video Is Even More Disturbing Than You Think

Ben Davis | artnet news | 29th September 2017

New York’s Guggenheim has run into ferocious criticism over disturbing videos of animals in a new show of Chinese art. Removing the most controversial items has only brought accusations of censorship. Claims of animal mistreatment are rejected by some as hypersensitivity Are there cross-cultural misunderstandings? Widespread mistreatment of animals on factory farms scarcely rates a mention.

‘Kinesthesia’ exhibit in Palm Springs spotlights kinetic art in breathtaking new dimensions

Christopher Knight | LA Times | 27th September 2017

Kinetic art – art that moves – may boast Duchamp and Calder but has since been tainted by lesser talents. Is it just a “clever gimmick?” No, it’s the real deal, this writer concludes. “Seemingly out of left field. Kosice worked on his wild “Hydrospatial City” installation for 26 years, starting in 1946. Twenty suspended architectural constructions in clear acrylic are like topsy-turvy space stations hovering in fluid darkness.”

Face to Face

Peter Schjeldahl | The New Yorker | 28th September 2017

On the centenary of Rodin’s death New York’s Met has mounted a huge show. Rodin’s career was slow to get going but this didn’t dent his confidence. He was, as one critic puts it, “a man of nineteenth century amplitude and not twentieth century doubt”. His portrayal of skin, his choice of poses were so modern that he “wrenched figurative sculpture … and sent it tumbling into modernity … the greatest sculptor since Bernini.”

26th September 2017

The Surprising History (and Future) of Paperweights

Chantel Tattoli | The Paris Review | 20th September 2017

Cheap paper led to more letters and documents, for which people needed … paperweights. By the 1860’s the novelty had worn off but not before glassmakers achieved stunning levels of technical and artistic proficiency. A century later, a revival, this time without the merest hint of functional purpose. A video on paperweight masterpieces (46 min) is here.

Older links
Newer links