08 Dec
Anne Spalter’s Scenes from the North Pole of TranscendenceI. Nearly thirty years ago, Rosalind Krauss produced the preeminent analysis of the singular structure most unique to, most resonant with, and most emblematic of the aims of modern art – the grid. What the grid initiates with the symmetry of its abstract purity, the circle extends, in a new form that could be taken as [...]
05 Dec
Manifest and Latent Reflections on Art and Art Basel I. Manifest As with so many other event cities that for a few days blossom into urban art constellations, it was time again to engage in that uncanny bit of ethnography called Art Basel Miami Beach. Upon my arrival, I sat to plan the agenda of this visit – like Proust, I actually expected that most [...]
13 Nov
Hedi Slimane, Cultural BarometerHedi Slimane’s “California Song” exhibit at LA MoCA marks another point in the coordinate system of legitimate cultural voices – barometers – that corroborate why the overlay of “popular” modes of expression – fashion, art, and music – is key for any comprehensive clarity of the “contemporary”.
16 Apr
Opening the Matrix of the Heart in James Franco’s “The Broken Tower”Thoughts on a biopic of the poet Hart Crane, directed by and starring James Franco.
05 Dec
The Affective Index in Video’s Depiction of DesireIntegrating the polarities of high and low culture, the image in contemporary photography and video’s tensions between distance and intimacy that has been exercised through allusions to reminiscent longing for the Other.
09 Sep
Engagement II – Marclay’s Media MetonymyIn three simultaneous venues in New York City, Christian Marclay’s unconventional deconstruction of consumer media, principally the phonograph and photographic image, perfects fragmentary recollection by melding real with imagined memory.
24 Jul
The Engagement Aesthetic – An IntroductionA new form of perceptual process, perhaps interactive and embodied, but more than both or either, connects contemporary art to the art of digital media. The title of this post is the title of my upcoming book.