Overall, Gilli’s performance articulated a complexity that was welcome and it did so within a project space that promises more interesting interventions. What was distinctive about the performance was its staging of the artist’s thought process in a moment of its development.
Read MoreCarla Hayden, who has led the Baltimore library system since 1993, will be the first woman and the first African American to lead the Library of Congress since its establishment in 1800. The Library serves as the de facto national library of the United States and is open to anyone over the age of 16 who obtains a reader card.
Read MoreAre artists special? This seems like one of those big bloated questions that avoids consideration mostly because talking about it would take too long. (Sometimes I feel every artist talk or discussion should begin by asking, What is art?) In one sense, it is a fairly straightforward question–yay, artist are special or neah, artist are not special. Of course, like most seemingly straightforward questions, there is a long and complicated path to the answer–e.g., Are you hungry? It depends. To address this question I want to examine a few of the underlying terms and, perhaps more importantly, explore how this discussion is shaped by tired tropes that are perpetuated by artists and non-artists alike.
Read MoreTogether, the paint box, palette, and paintbrush reminded me of the relics of saints–the remains of holy men and women, or the objects, earth, or clothing that came in contact with them during their lives. Too precious for human hands to touch, too powerful to stay buried in the ground (or archive), they can only be accessed through the containers that surround them. The saint’s (or artist’s) power is manifested by his ability to produce miracles through his relics. With His Study of Life, Orellana offers us the possibility of a sort of post-modern miracle, making a tongue-in-cheek yet deeply serious exploration of the religion of art, and of the ghost in the machine.
Read MoreMarie will celebrate her 99th birthday on August 31. Marie is Kensington’s most notable artist. Her house and home was on Howard St just around the corner from Berks St, in which, she resided mostly all her life. It was only a few years ago that she needed to move into a senior citizen assisted living home.
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