Colored Criticism

A fresh take on art.

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Art Off Pause Livestream

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We need art, and we need each other. Every part of our world has been disrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak.  Americans have turned to arts as a refuge. Since we can’t gather in person, we’ve moved our socializing online.

#ArtOffPause is a livestream series and social media campaign that helps us to stay connected as we look ahead. Our arts institutions are “on pause” to stop the spread of COVID-19. Artists, curators, and scholars will preview their suspended or upcoming projects via livestream. Our community can envision what the future might bring after the public health crisis.

We can’t access our museums and galleries, but we have access to each other. This crisis gives us an opportunity to highlight the people and process of art, instead of objects. Through connecting on a daily basis, we can deepen our relationship to our work and to our larger community. We need something to look forward to in the face of national adversity.

Register for Art Off Puase Watch on YouTube

Stay tuned for more from #ArtOffPause this summer!

 

 

 

Coronavirus Cancels Everything

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Hi friends,

I’m writing from my home, surrounded by the fallout of coronavirus. Our county is referred to as the “Westchester cluster,” which sounds vaguely like an old-timey candy instead of an outbreak. The National Guard is helping out the good people of New Rochelle, schools are closed next to my writing spot in Scarsdale, and our streets get quieter as the diagnosed cases tick up. We’re already community distancing as our schools, cultural institutions, and houses of worship try to contain the damage.

Museums are a great place to spend ideas, culture, and germs. I’ve been watching closely as #CancelEverything becomes real – every hour brings a cancellation or postponement. I’m not saying you have to stay home, but you can’t go to a museum or theater in NYC. Of course, we can still love up on art in the time of coronavirus. I’m clearly not a doctor, so I can’t help you with testing or public policy. But I can suggest how to make the best of a (mandatory? requested?) Covid-19 staycation:

  • Read a book: This is the time for independent study – your public library is full of arts expertise. Librarians are like a search engine or the internet, without conspiracy theories and #sponcon. I’m selecting my books online so that I can hit the circulation desk, wash my hands, and be back home.
  • Take a hike: Lace up your boots and see some outdoor art. We can definitely maintain a healthy distance from each other in a sculpture park like Socrates or Storm King. And let’s be honest, you’re going to be spending even more time sitting if you’re working from home. Get some fresh air!
  • Give generously: If you can’t buy a ticket at the door, make a donation. Smaller organizations are going to be hard hit by any reduction in visitors. The mandatory closures mean a significant drop in attendance for cultural institutions. That money isn’t coming back when the situation improves.

It’s no secret that there are plenty of low-wage and contingent workers in the arts. Teaching artists, security guards, cleaning staff, and art handlers tend to be under or uninsured. They also deal the most with the public. Boards and executives, this is the time to be creative in your duty of care. The Rauschenberg Emergency Grants program is a great start, but it won’t be enough. Supporting our most vulnerable colleagues will have a huge impact on our communities. Remember, Typhoid Mary was a service worker. She infected others because she couldn’t afford to stay at home.

 

The Art of Politics

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How do we talk politics? Many months away from the presidential election, I’m already tired of our current discussion. The news is full of conversations that don’t work: recaps of overcrowded debates, endless fact checking, and GIFs of candidates’ faces. Also not helpful for political inspiration: long policy papers that no one but reporters and political junkies will read. And certainly the least useful: the screaming and shouting led by reality-show candidate Donald Trump.

Read more at The Nation

Color Critic: Lauren Chief Elk

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ChiefElkI knew that I had to see “The Plains Indians: Artists of Earth and Sky.” And I knew that I had to take Lauren Chief Elk with me.

The Plains Indians show took a long road to New York: art lovingly created over centuries in the heartland of America (often before the existence of the United States.) These pieces traveled through the hands of many: into institutions and private collections in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, and the United States. The exhibition originated at the Musée du quay Branly, Paris, was curated by Gaylord Torrance of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and was organized by Judith Ostrowitz, Ph.D. at the Metropolitan Museum. I was beyond excited to see a culture that is often parodied and misunderstood, but rarely respected, in the halls of the Met.

And my clique had to come too! Art can be an individual or communal experience, but I wanted to hear from a modern Plains Indian.

Lauren Chief Elk, a Nakoda/Lakota writer, activist, and data artist, was just the voice. Both tribes are part of the Oceti Sakowin (or Sioux) Nation. Chief Elk is a true digital native, indigenous to both the Internet and the Americas. She ties together these identities in a way unique to our generation. Chief Elk uses technology tools to continue conversations about tribal sovereignty and women’s rights. Her fierce tweeting and incisive data collection describe the struggles of her community. You may not agree with everything she says, but you can’t deny that she’s one of the most passionate voices online today.

I’m proud to welcome Lauren Chief Elk as the inaugural Color Critic. You can learn more about her work on the Save Wįyąbi Project and Model View Culture. We’ll be tweeting about this episode using the hashtag #digitalnatives.

How to Talk About Race Without Getting Stuck in ‘Clybourne Park’

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Bruce Norris’ play “Clybourne Park” picks up the conversation about race where Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” left off. Nominated for four Tony Awards, this drama is set in fictional Clybourne Park–the Chicago neighborhood that represents the American dream to the Younger family of “Raisin.” The first act of the play simmers as the all-white community comes to terms with the idea of blacks moving into their midst during the 1950s. The second act explodes as the same neighborhood, now all-black and neglected, is “rediscovered” in the 1990s. Two affluent couples, one black and one white, face off over zoning laws. What begins as a negotiation over building codes develops into a screaming match about race, gentrification, and identity.

Read more at Colorlines

Universal Design for Cultural Institutions

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MoMA Education

Earlier this week, I was able to attend the fall Cool Culture fair. Cool Culture is an organization that works with Head Start families to increase access to the arts. Founded by two dynamic educators, the organization has welcomed 50,000 underserved families in the New York City area to various cultural institutions. The organization uses a network of community liaisons to break down visitation barriers and provide free visits to New York’s cultural gems. This week’s fair was a chance for the Cool Culture stakeholders—child educators, community liaisons, and cultural organizations—to share best practices and highlights.

Read more at Americans for the Arts