The first issue of the magazine Giant Robot I ever came across featured the Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai on the cover—this was enough to stand out on a crowded newsstand in the mid-nineteen-nineties. But what caught my attention were the teasers for a random assortment of other stories, about gangs, surfing, shaved ice, … Read more
There’s a self-portrait that shows Peter Hujar mid-leap. The picture is taken in a room, presumably in Hujar’s own East Village loft—at a time, 1974, when it was hard to imagine that the words “East Village loft” would ever sound chic. The room looks appropriately ratty: the floor is scuffed, the radiator covered in thick … Read more
The D.N.C. looked like the R.N.C. Apparently, during the harried month that passed between the recusal of Candidate Biden and the mounting of Candidate Harris, the campaign underwent a large image overhaul. The D.N.C. looked like the R.N.C., by which I mean, the Convention center in Chicago gave off the vapors of the Republican aesthetic. … Read more
The 2024 class of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation fellows includes more writers, artists, and storytellers than in years past, though the so-called genius grants list also includes multiple scientists. The interdisciplinary awards announced Tuesday come with a $800,000 grant over five years that the 22 recipients—including fiction writer Ling Ma, poet … Read more
Amid the green hills and meadows of central Bosnia, a local businessman has realised his long-held dream: recreating one of Vincent van Gogh’s most famous paintings, The Starry Night, in the form of a nature park. Halim Zukic from the town of Visoko decided to create a park after buying some land and a cottage … Read more
There was a time not too long ago when “Willem de Kooning and Italy,” at the Gallerie dell’Accademia, in Venice, would have had fans back in the U.S. gnashing their teeth. We are talking, after all, about the painter whose muscular slashes and jack-o’-lantern-faced women helped prove beyond any reasonable doubt that America, not Italy … Read more
The 2019 case where the Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS) lodged a complaint against Yash Raj Films alleging the misappropriation of Rs. 100 crore in royalties meant for lyricists, singers, music directors, and producers has finally come to a conclusion. Following nearly five years of investigation, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police … Read more
Over two decades ago, Michel Rabagliati first introduced his close friends and family to Paul — a teenage boy growing up in Montreal in the 1970s. Paul was Rabagliati’s creation: a comic that illustrated childhood, first loves, his first apartment and even divorce. The tender snapshots of daily life packed with cultural references and rich … Read more
If you attended the 2019 Venice Biennale, you might have waited in a long line to see the prize-winning piece “Sun & Sea (Marina),” an opera performance staged by three Lithuanian artists on a sandy faux beach that had been installed in a warehouse. A couple dozen performers acted out seaside leisure activities—sunbathing, digging, reading—and … Read more
From its pop-art iPod commercials to its celebrity-led Mac vs. PC campaign, Apple hasn’t had many marketing missteps to its name. But a controversial ad for the company’s latest iPad model has critics railing against the tech giant for what they say is a slight against artists and the creative community — a demographic once drawn to … Read more
