Good morning. Today, we bring you news of an online archive of Black Lives Matter-related art, the wo
| Good morning. Today, we bring you news of an online archive of Black Lives Matter-related art, the world’s largest Buddha sculpture is under threat, Ai Weiwei’s new Wuhan doc, thoughts on I May Destroy You, and more.– Hrag Vartanian, editor-in-chief | |
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| Black Lives Matter Art Archive |
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| | George Floyd memorial at the site of his murder in Minneapolis, photo by Peyton Scott Russell (all images courtesy the George Floyd & Anti-Racist Street Art database, used with the permission of their creators) |
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| It’s incredible to see universities and colleges, like the University of St. Thomas, investing in resources to document our visual culture. A good example is the recent online database that has catalogued over 1,000 murals and other art projects that have responded to the George Floyd protest or anti-racist actions. It’s certainly going to make online classes more interesting this fall. Leah Feiger writes:The project can also be an educational alternative to traditional galleries and museums amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As they begin to craft lesson plans for their own students, [Todd] Lawrence and [Heather] Shirey told me they are looking to the database as a teaching tool. For her art history class, Shirey had previously sent students to nearby museums and well-known street art. Now, the beginning of her course will focus on learning from the database instead.We covered the most famous of the Floyd murals, created near the site of his murder, back in May. I have a feeling this online database will grow fast and I can’t wait to see all the material they collect.More Online Art Archives:Artists and activists have a long history in Los Angeles’s Skid Row neighborhood. An online archive documents their stories and influence.Polish art historian Marika Kuźmicz has begun a project to research the biographies of overlooked Polish women artists, locate their archives, and make the information and images available in a free online database. |
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| | Michaela Coel in I May Destroy You (2020) |
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| I May Destroy You has been causing waves since it premiered because it is an unabashed portrait of people grappling with the realities of sexual assault. It’s multi-layered and refuses to package things neatly, but as Rachell Morillo notes in her review:For [Michaela] Coel, the answer is down a path of healing and dealing with trauma. Over the season, Arabella and other characters return to the scene and visions of the crime over and over, attempting to excavate new information, As Coel recently explained to GQ, “The past isn’t ever really past. […] You have to learn to have power over the thing instead of it having power over you.”I highly recommended the show (which had its season finale on Monday) for those wanting to learn more about the scourge of sexual assault and violence in our society. |
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| Buddha’s Wet PredicamentThe 233-feet-tall, 1,300-year-old Leshan Giant Buddha in Southern China took an unintended dip when flood waters crept up to its feet. As climate change accelerates, this is not going to be a rare sight. In December 2018, one study found that 49 UNESCO World Heritage Sites are threatened by rising sea levels.Ai in WuhanGotta give it to Ai Weiwei — the man goes after the story. His latest documentary focuses on the city where COVID-19 was first reported.MoMA Chairman Leon Black to be SubpoenaedBillionaire investor and art collector Leon Black, chairman of MoMA in New York, is expected to be subpoenaed in the Virgin Islands in connection to his business dealings with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The subpoenas will seek financial statements and tax returns from Black’s companies as part of a greater effort to clear the mystery of how Epstein had amassed his incredible wealth. |
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| and…Some things get covered, other things don’t, I guess. |
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