“If you are feeling despondent about the art scene, give up the scene, but don’t give up the art.”
“If you are feeling despondent about the art scene, give up the scene, but don’t give up the art.” This exhortation arrives toward the end of Audrey Flack’s memoir, published months before her passing in June, as an outstretched hand to all of us who love art and its community but are disenchanted with the mainstream art world — a struggle she knew well. With Darkness Came Stars chronicles her coming of age in 1950s New York, a process of constantly wading against tides of misogyny, classism, and general avarice. It was one of my favorite art books of 2024, among a host of titles chosen by our editors and contributors. Check out the full list below! Among these books is the novel Martyr! by poet Kaveh Akbar, who, as it turns out, is also secretly a painter. He shares this in common with Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk, who just published a book of his illustrated journals. The two sat down to discuss making one’s diaries public, writers who paint in private, and the joys of crafting fiction. If you maintain clandestine pastimes and artistic practices, as most of us do, this conversation is for you. Read on for more in this edition, including a visual history of undergarments, Corky Lee’s radical photography, and the entwined lineage of Black visual art and music. Let us know what your favorite art books of 2024 were! — Lakshmi Rivera Amin, Associate Editor | |
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| | | This expansive genre includes any title with a bearing on the multifaceted art world — from Audrey Flack’s memoir to Caitlin Cass’s Suffrage Song. |
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IN CONVERSATION | | | | Poet Kaveh Akbar speaks with the Nobel Prize-winning Turkish novelist about his book of journal entries and paintings, authors who also make art, and the delight of writing fiction. | Kaveh Akbar |
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| | | | Hrag Vartanian and author Eunsong Kim discuss the hidden power imbalances behind some of the most prominent pieces of 20th-century conceptual art. |
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| | Corky Lee’s Asian America is a stunning glimpse into the fight for racial justice over the last half-century — one many Americans haven’t seen. | Lavinia Liang |
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| | Author Nina Edwards weaves a seamless tale of the social, visual, and economic dimensions of the hidden garments that literally underpin our lives. | Rhea Nayyar |
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| | Organized around the five components of a song, Nikki A. Greene dissects a lineage of sonic resonance and visual aesthetics in Grime, Glitter, and Glass. | Nereya Otieno |
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| | In a new book, the novelist and essayist writes in parallel to, rather than directly about, art. | Carl Little |
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You’re currently a free subscriber to Hyperallergic. To support our independent arts journalism, please consider joining us as a member. | | Become a Member |
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