Love Is in the Air

February 14, 2023

Good morning. 🌤️ Happy Valentine's Day! One thing to remember on this holiday: We must, first and foremost, love ourselves. No healthy relationship has ever bloomed from self-loathing, am I right?

I am right. Today, we report on how a nonprofit is using handmade Valentine's Day cards to uplift the spirits of women living with HIV, and we inquire: Did Diego Rivera help Frida Kahlo take her own life? A new documentary sheds some light on that, though art historians remain skeptical.

Also today: Native American artists protest against racist NFL mascots during the Super Bowl game, Colombia demands the repatriation of its ancient San Agustín statues from Germany, and a new exhibition explains the importance of cannabis in Jewish culture and history. The exhibition is hilariously titled Am Yisrael High. But today we're getting high on love, aren't we?

— Hakim Bishara, Senior Editor

Shalom and Pass the Joint

A new exhibition reveals how Jewish people throughout history have embraced marijuana both spiritually and politically. | Billie Anania

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WHAT'S HAPPENING

A portion of the pop-up exhibition for LOVE POSITIVE WOMEN at MoMA PS1 (photo Rhea Nayyar/Hyperallergic)

Organized by Visual AIDS, “Love Positive Women” distributes hand-crafted Valentine's Day cards to women living with HIV.

A grandson of Diego Rivera claims that the Mexican artist may have assisted Frida Kahlo in taking her own life in a new BBC documentary.

Native artists protest the NFL’s racist mascots outside the Glendale, Arizona, stadium hosting Sunday night’s Super Bowl LVII.

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IN OUR STORE

Boogie-Woogie Socks

Step into a work of art with these seamless, combed cotton socks featuring “Broadway Boogie-Woogie” (1942–43) by Piet Mondrian.
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FROM THE ARCHIVE

Cupid Shoots Through Millennia of Art

The god of love and desire has fascinated and inspired artists since antiquity. | Hakim Bishara