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
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 30, 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
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
Opinion The Strongest Reactions to the Philip Guston Show’s Postponement Miss Two Key Points. Here’s What They Are—and Why They Matter Our critic considers two ways of thinking about the controversial Philip Guston postponement that might make you rethink your gut reaction. By Ben Davis, Oct 15, 2020
Opinion Why We Should Reboot the Art History Canon Instead of Ditching It + 2 More Thought-Provoking Things to Read A weekly round-up of interesting and important readings from around the internet. By Ben Davis, Jul 31, 2020
Opinion What Painter Jon McNaughton’s New Patriotic-Religious Fantasia of Donald Trump Actually Means Who's the guy with the flowy hair? By Ben Davis, Jul 29, 2020
Opinion How a New Monument Movement Challenges the ‘Great Man Theory of History’ + Two More Thought-Provoking Things to Read This Week A weekly round-up of interesting and important readings from around the internet. By Ben Davis, Jul 24, 2020
Opinion In Defense of ‘Radical Chic’: How Tom Wolfe’s 1970 Essay Offers a Warning About Debates Over ‘Performative Activism’ Now What if we looked at the history of "Radical Chic" not from the POV of a celebrity reporter but from that of the activists he was skewering? By Ben Davis, Jul 22, 2020
Opinion How to Explain the Malaise of the Post-Internet Art Scene + Two Other Illuminating Reads From Around the Web A weekly round-up of interesting and important readings from around the internet. By Ben Davis, Jul 17, 2020
Opinion How Paul Pfeiffer and Arthur Jafa Help Rethink the Ethics of Sharing Traumatic Imagery + Two Other Illuminating Reads From Around the Web A weekly round-up of interesting and important readings from around the internet. By Ben Davis, Jul 10, 2020
Opinion Why the Columbus Monument Should Be Seen as a Monument to the Construction of Whiteness in the United States From Benjamin Harrison through Richard Nixon and beyond, appeal to the symbolism of Columbus has had cynical motives. By Ben Davis, Jun 12, 2020
Opinion As Its Workers Organize, the Philadelphia Museum of Art Management Turns to an Infamous Anti-Union Law Firm The law firm, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, is known for fighting against a $15 minimum wage. By Ben Davis, Jun 11, 2020
Opinion Trump’s Freakish Church Photo Op and the Widespread Arrests of Journalists Point to the Same Deeper Rot The present media situation marks a shift in the state's balance between consent and force. By Ben Davis, Jun 3, 2020