December 27, 2021 • View in browser

Good Morning. ⛅️ Hope you had a lovely holiday. We’re back for the final stretch before New Year's. Today, Paul Verhoeven takes on the Catholic Church, painted statues animate the Hispanic Society, and a TikToker pokes fun at the way Western art institutions treat non-Western art.

— Hrag Vartanian, editor-in-chief

E. Jane Explores the Diva in Us All

With the altar and the flesh the artist and performer provides the space for viewers to revere our shared icons while making space for the superstars of the future. | Madeleine Seidel

Lifelike Painted Statues Reanimate Museum Many Left for Dead

The objects and artists in Gilded Figures are so well chosen and so carefully interpreted that each section challenges divisions and rejects easy tropes. | Roko Rumora

The Gleeful Blasphemy and Queer Nun Romance of Benedetta

Beneath the explicit sex and violence of the latest film from Dutch provocateur Paul Verhoeven are thoughtful challenges about gender roles and institutional religion. | Veronica Baker

IN OTHER NEWS

TikToker Pokes Fun at Western Attitudes Towards Non-Western Art

"The Europeans are a simple people, but perhaps in this complex age we could learn something from their simplicity,” TikToker Amalia Rubin says mockingly as she reverses an attitude that remains embarrassingly prevalent in Western culture. | Jasmine Liu

Watch 25 Hours of People Reading Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick

The Moby-Dick Marathon has been an annual tradition at the New Bedford Whaling Museum since 1997. | Hakim Bishara

Become a Member

Support our independent journalism and help keep our reporting and criticism free and accessible to all.

Join Us