Weekly Newsletter
A political prisoner is freed, a Homerist reviews Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” and do we have to pretend to like David Hockney’s iPad paintings?
After spending five years in a high-security prison near Havana, Cuban dissident artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara has been released and sent into exile in Miami. While he is now free, the situation hardly calls for celebration. The US continues to impose restrictions on the island, deepening the despair among its citizens. Justice remains elusive both in the US and Cuba.
Meanwhile, Christopher Nolan’s cinematic take on The Odyssey is the topic of much conversation, prompting us to enlist a Homer expert for a review. According to Joel P. Christensen from the CUNY Graduate Center, “As a spectacle, the movie is a fantastic success,” but he adds, “As a reflection of us, it fails.”
Switching to a sensitive topic: the iPad paintings by the late David Hockney. While the digital canvas allowed him to continue creating art in his later years, the question remains whether we should feel obliged to appreciate the results. Our London critic Olivia McEwan believes we should not.
Continue reading to explore the political symbolism behind a massive wiener in Times Square, the short-spined raccoon that has become a favorite among outsiders, and the uproar over a Hollywood star’s earrings. Thank you for reading. I plan to watch The Odyssey this weekend.
—Hakim Bishara, editor-in-chief
Zendaya’s Earrings Are Part of a Much Bigger Problem
Zendaya recently faced criticism for wearing earrings made from 3,000-year-old Iranian gold discs during a London event for Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film, The Odyssey. The discs, adorned with 18-karat gold and diamonds, were crafted into earrings by jeweler Glenn Spiro as part of his Materials of the Old World collection. They were later acquired by Barron London, a jewelry house, which stated that they are not for sale as they are part of the company’s private collection. However, their presence on the red carpet was deemed inappropriate.
Describing himself as a “voracious collector” who is captivated by unique artifacts “regardless of their provenance,” Spiro commented on the collection, saying, “You can wear something around your neck that dates back thousands of years but is still contemporary and cool.” An online review of Spiro’s collection aptly captured the performative exoticism driving such repurposing: “… fragments of forgotten empires are not merely displayed but reborn.”
Read More
Indie Film From the Global Majority: BlackStar Celebrates 15 Years of Cinema for Liberation
The world’s most significant and groundbreaking filmmakers of color will gather to showcase their work in Philadelphia August 6-9.
Learn more
News
- The Art Institute of Chicago plans to transfer its custodial staff to a private contractor in August, sparking protests from unionized workers.
- Cuban dissident artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara has reached Miami after a week of uncertainty about his whereabouts following his release from a five-year prison term for charges of “contempt, defamation, and public disorder.”
- Residents and activists in New York’s Chinatown protested outside a town hall meeting at the Museum of Chinese in America, criticizing the leadership for accepting a $35 million city grant they believe is tied to the construction of a borough jail.
- Following legal disputes between Philadelphia and the Trump administration, federal officials have replaced exhibits detailing the history of slavery in the US at a Pennsylvania historical park.
- A recently disclosed letter reveals that alleged “racist” and “culturally insensitive” behaviors led to Yuko Kikuchi’s resignation in January from her role as head of academic programs at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
- Tate has appointed Jessica Morgan, the former head of the Dia Art Foundation in New York, as its next director.
- Two painters have filed a lawsuit against The Hole Gallery, claiming they are owed about $50,000 in unpaid sales proceeds.
- Collectors Anne and Arthur Goldstein have gifted over 70 pieces of modern and contemporary art to the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University.
- Dmitriy Popov has been sentenced to 20 years for the fatal stabbing of Black gay professional dancer O’Shae Sibley. The sentencing follows Popov’s conviction for manslaughter as a hate crime in June.
- Weeks before a significant collection of 20th-century Mexican art is set to be exhibited in Europe, advocates are suing Mexico’s main cultural entity over the legal grounds for exporting the nation’s artistic heritage.
- Just months after the New Museum’s expanded building reopened, a water leak forced the Manhattan institution to close for a full weekend.
- The New York Foundation for the Arts has awarded $903,000 to 132 artists across New York State through its joint fellowship program with the New York State Council on the Arts.
- Art Movements: Michael Wellen and José Luis Blondet have been named curators of the upcoming Made in L.A. exhibition, Tate has a new director, and the Immigrant Artist Biennial is returning for another edition.
From Our Critics
The Sunflower Effect of Kyung-Me
The artist’s latest series marks a transition in her practice, depicting the life cycle of a sunflower — from blooming to decay, from distinct forms to streams of dissolution. | John Yau
Read More
Features
- Required Reading: The Louvre reopens the room where it happens, a Texas artist’s outdoor collection, Nancy Drew in the public domain, Rachel Cusk and Natalie Portman have beef, and more.
- In Memoriam: we honor Christine Borland, an artist who explored human fragility through science; Astrid Furnival, a pioneering British textile artist; Vicente Matallana, a champion of digital art, and more.
- A View From the Easel: Patrick Guetta repurposes brand imagery to spread environmentalist messages and approaches the streets of Los Angeles as mini museums in themselves.
