Theo Jansen wants to make "life" and he figures the best way to do it is to start from scratch. A self-styled god, Jansen is evolving an entirely new line of animals: immense multi-legged walking critters designed to roam the Dutch coastline, feeding on gusts of wind. Playing God Lakshmi Sandhana Theo Jansen, Animaris Percipiere […]

The Weisman Museum at Pepperdine hosts a show of art by Zelda Fitzgerald, who comes to us not as a producer of culture but as the bedeviled consort of F. Scott The Postmodern Princess Marlena Donohue Zelda Fitzgerald, Times Square, 1944. Courtesy of Samuel J. Lanahan. The Weisman Museum at Pepperdine hosts a show of […]

Roland Barthes described photography’s spectacular possession as "that rather terrible thing which is there in every photograph: the return of the dead." Barthes’ words are certainly brought to life in the wonderfully strange exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "The Perfect Medium: Photography and the Occult. The Return of the Dead Imagined? Seema Srivastava […]

Kellogg’s Cornflakes, Ariel laundry detergent, Coca Cola soda, candy bars and newspapers–we are entering a space where you can get any product you may need. But why are all the cartons, packages, cans and magazines covered in a thin layer of transparent beeswax? KioskShop Berlin Tina Kesting KioskShop Berlin. Kellogg’s Cornflakes, Ariel laundry detergent, Coca […]

Soccer without fouls–how can that be a spectacle? The exhibition "Rundlederwelten," the culmination of the artistic and cultural co-programme of the Federal Government for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, presents soccer from another perspective–an artistic one, without fouls or aggression. Kick-off to art Tina Kesting Stefan Banz, Hitzfeld, 1997. Installation, mixed techniques and media. Courtesy […]

The most radical quality of the mammoth DADA exhibition that occupied the entire top floor of the Pompidou in Paris through January 9th, DADA is Back Richard Kostelanetz Marcel Duchamp, Fountain (Fontaine), 1917. Urinoir – Ready-made (�dition 1964). Faience blanche recouverte de gla�ure c�ramique et de peinture; 63 x 48 x 35 cm. Collection Centre […]

Since the 1950s, the Arab–especially Iraqi–culture is a culture of exile, a culture of increasing diaspora, and a culture of suppressed artistic life. The Iraqi Equation Tina Kesting Claudia Zanfi and Gianmaria Conti, Mobile Book Shop, Bagdhad, 2002. Courtesy of aMAZElab Since the 1950s, the Arab–especially Iraqi–culture is a culture of exile, a culture of […]

Frank O’Hara (1926-1966), the legendary New York poet and "the Last Bohemian," lived a short life, but he managed to produce an amazing body of work in just 14 years of public creativity (1952-1966), and he remains one of the most important "poets among painters" of his time and a major influence on several generations […]

In the early 1970s, Chilean biologists Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela sought an accurate definition of life when they first formulated a theory to distinguish living systems. Autopoiesis David Halsell courtesy of the artist. In the early 1970s, Chilean biologists Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela sought an accurate definition of life when they first formulated […]

It seems like every time I walk around the block in Chelsea another half-dozen galleries open shop. It’s a bit like the real estate bubble, I just don’t see how the market place can sustain such growth. picks ’em / NYC March/April 2006 Christopher Chambers Cassandra Lozano, Blossom Bomb, 2005. Polycarbonate sphere, sequins, glass beads, […]