The Perfection of Play, Eleanora Kupencow Marek Bartelik Art results in unexpected encounters or, perhaps, it is the other way around:unexpected encounters result in art. For Eleanora Kupencow such an encounterwas with the Polish author and artist Bruno Schulz (1892-1942) through his writings.Or does this meeting between Kupencow and Schultz just appear “unexpected”to me, because […]

On Space, Transcendence, and the Dia Beacon Robert C. Morgan The theologianPaul Tillich once spoke of “the space of tragedy” as being a conditionin which the historical sense of time had been lost. In his book Theology ofCulture (1964), Tillich refers to the Greek tragedies as events conceived ina space that is removed from our […]

Dream Factory Communism: The Visual Culture of the Stalin Era Jamey Hecht Soviet Socialist Realism is the purview of this exhibition at the Schirn Kunsthallein Frankfurt. It constitutes a sequel to "The Great Utopia," Schirn’s1992 exhibition on the Russian avant-garde. Those artists shared with their West-Europeancounterparts an active hostility to bourgeois institutions and to the […]

Workers without Borders: Surveillance and the workplace without the workpla Michele Beck The meteoric riseof the service economy in the West has led to the spread of surveillance, notjust over individuals who produce goods, but also over consumers. Since the West’sprimary form of production is no longer carried out by workers in a factory setting,new […]

Reconstructing Memory: The Family Photographs of Three New York Artists Lori Don Levan Jerry Vezzuso,Darin Mickey and Rod Morata all have something in common: they photograph theirfamilies. While this may not seem like an unusual activity — we all photographour families at some point or another — these three artists take familyphotography out to an […]

ROLAND MURI, "Role Models?" at the Chelsea Art Museum Lydia Keck The legendary imageof a great celebrity is usually a mask for a tormented past. Jazz musician LouisArmstrong grew up in poverty with his grandmother in Louisiana. When, as a twelve-year-old,he fired a gun into the air on New Year’s Eve, he was arrested and […]

“ From SoHo to San Francisco “ Juxtaposition color diversity and individual expression, Canvas Gallery in San Francisco found itall when they invited: AJ Nadel, Winand Staring, Saundra Schwartzkopf and LanceDehne. Four New York artists to join in their already colorful group for an Eastmeets West event “ From SoHo to San Francisco “ Canvas […]

Unlikely Icons James Scarborough Icons nowadaysare not the first thing one thinks of as one stands before a work of art. Norreverence. And hardly awe. Indeed, “shock” has replaced “awe”as an operative unit of reverence, as per a current war on terrorism. It joinsRobert Hughes’s Shock of the New as a contemporary synonym for “awe.Think […]

A Servant of Two Masters Charles Giuliano Drawing Conclusions:Works by Artist Critics Curated by Judy Collischan In addition to making works of art, Leonardo da Vinci was active as an inventorand scientist. Michelangelo would have been famous for any one of his pursuitsas sculptor, painter or architect. He also wrote sonnets and penned remarkableletters. Bernini […]

Like a New Orleans jazz funeral, the "Spin" show at CVB Space in the Meatpacking District combines the notion of demise with buoyant brass music for a jarring effect. Spin at CVB Space Kate Lowenstein Cynthia von Buhler, Shake Hands With Uncle Sam, Interaction view. Like a New Orleans jazz funeral, the "Spin" show at […]