Spectacular, Spectacular: Venice, Vegas, and the A-Y-P Expo

17Jun09

On Artsbeat, Randy Kennedy recently recounted a Kafkaesque experience receiving his press credentials at the Venice Biennale:
“The words ‘grande confusione’ are often heard. They were running through my head as a woman told me I was in the wrong place and that I should walk to the Arsenale, the other site for the event, several [...]

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Tags: a-y-p, alaska, blockbuster exhibitions, casinos, dave hickey, dawn cerny, exhibitions, exposition, fear and loathing in las vegas, hunter s. thompson, journey, kitsch, las vegas, pacific, pilgrimage, popular culture, press credentials, randy kennedy, seattle, spectacle, venice biennale, visual culture, yukon

Educated Overmastery

28Oct08

Periodical: Lapham’s Quarterly, Fall 2008
Exhibition: Light Seeking Light, Western Bridge
Literature: The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
The fall edition of Lapham’s Quarterly examines various understandings of learning.  William Deresiewicz’s opening essay in “The Hypothesis” section (originally published in The Disadvantages of an Elite Education) briefly dissects the American Ivy League educational system.  Deresiewucz describes [...]

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Tags: contemporary art, education, exhibitions, lapham's quarterly, literature, mary temple, overmastery, the crying of lot 49, thomas pynchon, william deresiewicz

Three Potentially Amazing Things: Music Edition

02Jul08

1. The Forty Part Motet by Janet Cardiff at the Tacoma Art Museum (opened last week).

Image: Janet Cardiff, The Forty Part Motet, by Janet Cardiff (A Re-working of Spem in Alium Nunquam Habui 1573, by Thomas Tallis). 40 loudspeakers mounted on stands, placed in an oval, amplifiers, and playback computer, 14 minute loop with 11 [...]

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Tags: contemporary art, events, exhibitions, local, seattle museums

Fiction, Fantasy, Deserts, and Destruction

14Jun08

Article: “Kiddie Orientalism” by Brian T. Edwards in The Believer (June 08 )
Book: The Book on Vegas by Lisa Eisner, Roman Alonso, Noel Daniel, Dave Hickey (intro)

Blog: “I will see where it takes me from here: A conversation with Ed Ruscha” by Arcy Douglass in PORT
The desert has routinely been linked to particular notions of [...]

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Tags: desert, destruction, ed ruscha, exhibitions, exoticism, las vegas, star wars

You, You, and You

03Jun08

Three things that centralize the viewer this week in the arts sphere:
1. Walker on the Green: Artist-Designed Mini Golf
The Walker’s series of miniature golf course installations looks like a fantastic experience that can appeal to the general public in a way museums often strive for through their exhibitions. This year features a focus on [...]

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Tags: exhibitions, film, museums, participation, performance art

The Exhibition Age

24May08

“It is now widely accepted that the art history of the second half of the 20th century is no longer a history of artworks, but a history of exhibitions.” (Harald Szeemann, via Art History Newsletter)
I thought of this quotation as I plan a quick excursion to Los Angeles this weekend and realize I am most [...]

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Tags: Add new tag, contemporary art, exhibitions, los angeles, museums