Weekly This week, we published curator Frederica Simmons’s articles about Bessie Harvey, including an interview with the artist’s daughter about her mother’s life and work. We will be hosting Simmons this Tuesday, February 15, at 7 pm EST, and you can RSVP to reserve your spot. We hope you have been enjoying this unique online series that is working to demystify the world of curating. In other news, views, and reviews, a security guard is accused of drawing eyes on an avant-garde painting, celebrity Solange Knowles has launched a ceramics residency in Brooklyn, a new New York state program will provide payments and jobs for up to 2,700 artists, and reviews of Brenda Goodman, Francis Bacon, Gisela McDaniel, Jennifer Packer, Elmer Bischoff, Tom Burckhardt, and much more. — Hrag Vartanian, editor-in-chief Bessie Harvey on her porch, 1987 (photo by William Arnett, courtesy the Souls Grown Deep Foundation, used with permission) Frederica Simmons explores curation "as an act of protest and disruption of oppressive culture" and recalls the life and work of sculptor Bessie Harvey in an interview with her daughter. The Gift of Humanity in Bessie Harvey’s Art, An Interview with Faye Harvey Dean
The collective wisdom that she acquired through the diasporic Black American experience of womanhood allowed her to recall her value and humanity, which she poured into her art. UPCOMING SPECIAL EVENT On Tuesday, February 15, at 7pm (EST), join us for a special event with Frederica Simmons as she discusses the work of Bessie Harvey (1929–94), a self-taught artist from the Black American South who created mixed-media assemblages from materials located in the woods surrounding her home. The conversation will critically investigate Harvey’s rich portfolio of work, a selection of which will be featured in Simmons’s upcoming Hyperallergic email exhibition on Sunday, February 13. The ensuing event will focus on how the artist, as a Black woman in the United States, infused her work with complex ideas about humanity, racism, and religion while maintaining her contemporary identity; and the necessity of conscious curation for uplifting Black narratives. RSVP to attend. NEWS THIS WEEK Anna Leporskaya’s painting “Three Figures” (1932-34) after it was defaced at the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center in Russia (courtesy the Art Newspaper Russia) A security guard is accused of using a ballpoint pen to draw eyes on an avant-garde painting at the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center. An outpouring of satirical memes highlights the absurdity of Putin and Macron's bizarre Kremlin meeting. Rotterdam residents pledge to throw rotten eggs at Jeff Bezos's mega-yacht as it passes through the city’s Koningshaven Bridge this summer. Saint Heron launches a Brooklyn-based ceramics residency, announcing its inaugural cohort of participating artists. A new program spearheaded by the Mellon Foundation will provide monthly payments and jobs for up to 2,700 artists in New York State. Azerbaijan issues a “specialists committee” to purge traces of Armenian history in the occupied region of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh). SPONSORED Featuring new works by the same artists, the second part of this NYC exhibition explores the body as theme and medium, offering new understandings of identity. Learn more. LATEST IN ART Brenda Goodman, "Self-Portrait 4" (1994), oil on panel, 64 x 60 inches (© Brenda Goodman, courtesy Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York) If Romanticism devolved into the cult of the individual, Goodman transforms aspects of it into something larger and more commonplace than herself. Her work stands in sharp and critical contrast to the model of the male genius, which the art world continues to promote and worship. The Beastliness of Bacon
Michael Glover on Francis Bacon: Man and Beast at the Royal Academy in London. Jennifer Packer, “A Lesson in Longing” (2019) (image by Seph Rodney) Jennifer Packer Shows Us the Responsibility of Seeing
Seph Rodney on Jennifer Packer: The Eye Is Not Satisfied With Seeing at the Whitney Museum of American Art.The Eye Is Not Satisfied With Seeing makes me think not only the rewards of seeing, but also the responsibility to do so... I have to ask: What is my responsibility to see? Who will hold us accountable when we fail in this very basic duty? Shining a Light on Soviet Jewish Life
Matt Stromberg on Soviet Jewish Life: Bill Aron and Yevgeniy Fiks at the Wende Museum. SPONSORED Funding is available for our residency program, which enables artists to pause their daily life and join us in conversation, collaborative thinking, and experimentation. Learn more. Graduate students in the University of Denver’s Emergent Digital Practices program work on research with faculty who are engaged directly with their communities, both online and off. Learn more. Students can enroll in a Full Residency in Portland, ME or a Low Residency from anywhere in the world. Apply by January 21 to be considered for a full-tuition scholarship. Learn more. MORE FROM HYPERALLERGIC From Three Minutes — A Lengthening (2021), dir. Bianca Stigter (images courtesy Super LTD) The film is a riveting look at the myriad ways we can look at, think about, pick apart, and remember historical evidence. Do We Really Need a Mona Lisa Immersive Experience?
Farah Abdessamad addresses the hyper-commercialization of art through the creation of immersive experiences. Required Reading
This week, the racist depictions in the US Capitol, fictional truths and conspiracy theories, the evolving relationship of celebrities and NFTs, “black passing,” and much more. Become a member today to support our independent journalism.
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