Art World Considering the Overlooked History of ‘Black Romantic’ Painting + 4 Other Great Art Essays Worth Reading From This January A round up of ideas from around the art web. By Ben Davis, Jan 28, 2021
Politics Revelations About ‘Putin’s Palace’ Helped Spark Widespread Protests in Russia. Here’s What’s Inside His Secret ‘New Versailles’ Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has literally dug out receipts for, among other things, a $28,000 leather sofa. By Ben Davis, Jan 26, 2021
Opinion 3 Observations About Culture, Politics, and Social Media Radicalization in the Post-Trump Era On digital populism and the influencer economy as a base of reaction. By Ben Davis, Jan 22, 2021
Opinion I Spent Two Hours Inside the Met’s New Augmented-Reality Experience. Here’s a Minute-by-Minute Chronicle of My Edutainment Odyssey "The Met Unframed" not only lets you visit the museum virtually, but lets the museum visit you. By Ben Davis, Jan 13, 2021
People Artist Paul Mpagi Sepuya Is Doing a Solidarity Print Fundraiser to Help Save a Beloved LGBTQ+ Nightclub in Los Angeles The community has rallied to Akbar, a beloved spot trying to sustain itself through lockdown. By Ben Davis, Jan 11, 2021
Opinion Bob Ross May Have Been the Most Popular Artist of 2020. Here’s Why It’s Not Just a ‘Happy Little Accident’ Here are five reasons for his persistent—and growing—popularity. By Ben Davis, Dec 29, 2020
Politics Trump Threatens to Derail Congress’s Coronavirus Relief Bill Unless Funding for the Smithsonian and Other Cultural Institutions Is Cut The funding for the museums is actually part of the government's annual budget, not the relief bill. By Ben Davis, Dec 23, 2020
Art World In a Year When Many Were Stuck Indoors, Google Says ‘Virtual Museum Tours’ Was Among Its Most Popular Search Terms Museums looking to catch the wave of interest may have already missed it, however. By Ben Davis, Dec 11, 2020
Reviews Why the New ART CLUB2000 Retrospective Offers Lessons for Today’s Artists That Transcend Pure ’90s Nostalgia The art collective as conceptual "pose band." By Ben Davis, Dec 10, 2020
Opinion There Is an Alien Power Driving the Frenzy Over the Utah Monolith. It’s Just Not From Outer Space Land Art history offers some clues—though the Monolith is very much a creature of the present, not the past (or the future.) By Ben Davis, Dec 2, 2020
Reviews The Asia Society Triennial Has a Lot of the Same Problems Most Biennials Do. But It Also Crystallizes a New Trend in Art "We Do Not Dream Alone" gives a glimpse of "delegated handicraft" as a biennial style. By Ben Davis, Nov 25, 2020
Art World Did You Catch the Clever Art-Historical Easter Egg in the Netflix Hit ‘The Queen’s Gambit’? Here’s What It Means The show offers a background homage to a French painter whose life echoes the themes of the story. By Ben Davis, Nov 23, 2020
Opinion Why the Art World Shouldn’t Be Congratulating Itself on Donald Trump’s Defeat Did the last four years of politicized culture break art's bubble or strengthen it? By Ben Davis, Nov 16, 2020
Politics How Much Do Creative Professionals Donate to Republicans Versus Democrats? Here Are the Numbers Artists gave far more to Joe Biden than Donald Trump, but where do architects, editors, photographers, and other professions rank? By Ben Davis, Nov 3, 2020
Art World What Is the ‘Haunted Painting Effect’? Here’s a Simple How-To Guide on the Spooky Illusion That Can Make Any Painting Come Alive It's called "Motion Aftereffect," aka the "Haunted Painting Effect." By Ben Davis, Oct 29, 2020