This week’s Reader Advisor reflects on the state of law enforcement in our country. As I write this on Friday afternoon I am having a hard time finding any value, context, or urgency in my perspective as a white American. Instead I am going to step aside and let the links speak for themselves. To start, a poem by June Jordan via The Poetry Foundation.
Read MoreRosa Leff’s papercuts push the boundaries of the two-dimensional world. Inspired by children’s books and political cartoons, her illustrations are painstakingly crafted shape-shifters that trick the eye, at times evoking a relief print with fine line work and deep contrast. It’s upon close inspection that the separation of the cut image from it’s backing creates a landscape of shadows that makes the work reside in neither the two nor three-dimensional realm.
Read MoreThe “way markers” come, as one would expect, from Tobias’s visceral responses to his walk along the path and are designed to tickle your ears, nose, and skin, as well as your brain. You experience more than you see, depending on the weather and how open you are that day.
Read MoreOne of the most unconventional places to view art this summer is the cruiser Olympia, docked on the Delaware River. Commissioned in 1895 and now part of the Independence Seaport Museum, Olympia is the oldest steel warship still afloat in the world–and now it is playing host to sculptural installations that show up in the most unlikely spaces, from officers’ cabins to bathrooms to the galley kitchen.
Read MoreThe commercial gallery scene in Philadelphia has always been vulnerable and subject to market whims and weak collector base, but maybe the 21st Century model where gallerists forgo spaces, become nomadic and work as curatorial managers on behalf of artists will prove healthy for both the artists and the gallerists. I hope so. Artblog has watched Bridgette Mayer and her gallery grow and adapt and continually refresh over the years. Bridgette, I wish you the best!
Read MoreThe creation of “spaces” is an often-invoked mechanism in cultural documents, reports, and applications. It is a quick and effective literary tool that helps illustrate project benefits that might not be easily accounted for or evaluated. This turn of phrase also nicely references the most current and prominent tactic (or buzzword) within non-profit community cultural engineering called “placemaking,” which describes efforts that seek to revitalize communities through the reinvention and reorientation of public spaces. Taking a longer consideration of “space creation” has led me to this week’s links. Specifically, how do we effect our environments through actions alone? Can a physical space be altered by non-physical means? These questions plus more in this week’s Reader Advisor.
Read More
