THE CREMASTER CYCLE The Ancient Greeks had a  word for it, schmaltz, (that’s loosely translated from the vulgate). Indeed, after a cursory viewing of The Cremaster Cycle mounted at the Guggenheim Museum, one is supremely aware of the debt Matthew Barney owes to the Greeks, as well as, to the Romans of Antiquity, 1960’s underground […]

Phalanges Aaron Birk "PHALANGES," an exhibition of small works by seventeen artists, opened on February 13th in twin gallery spaces at lower Manhattan’s center of chic commerce. Not thirty-six hours before the greatest single day of protest in global history, ravenous twenty-something hipsters drained Sapporo beer and popped cheese cubes among the wartime collections of […]

Beyond Media Piri Halasz The notion that painting may be going the way of the dodo finds some substantiation in the latest positions listings booklet of the College Art Association. It had fifty-five openings for "artists," but only twelve of them were for painters, drawing teachers, or artists who could teach both painting and drawing. […]

Gerrymandering John Perreault Some films are intended as movies and others are intended as art. Clear cinema categories come to mind: experimental films, art films (once synonymous or overlapping with foreign films), midnight films, underground films, cult films and mass-market movies. Art may occur in any of these categories. The divisions are more about market […]

First Steps Emerging Artists from Japan at P.S. 1 P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center presents First Steps: Emerging Artists from Japan, a biennial exhibition established in 1995 by Philip Morris K.K., the Japanese subsidiary of Philip Morris International Inc., as a vehicle for discovering and supporting emerging Japanese artists and introducing them to the international art […]

Artineering: Artist’s Note by Lance Dehn� Yes, I did have an "Erector Set" when I was a kid. I also participated in the games "Mousetrap," "Operation," "Chutes and Ladders," even built a few "Mr. Potato Head" and many, many model airplanes. I still like to watch gadgets; where the steel ball rolls down a chute, […]

"To Love, Honor and Cherish: The Role of Contemporary Portraiture" Jeanine Jackson A successful portrait, much like a good marriage, is the result of a profound commitment to love, honor and cherish. Contemporary portraitists love their work, often with unbridled passion. John Howard Sanden of The Portrait Institute tells us, "I opened my portrait studio […]

Edward Enfiajan: Artist Statement According to Edward Enfiajan, Marcel Duchamp’s conception of art as a disposable item, without permanence, art without the museum surroundings has itself final come to an end. The beauty of Duchamp’s idea lies in precisely his own notion of temporality. Duchamp has been around for too long. Beauty or the "ultimate […]

"Progetto Delta" Sherif and Tabo Graffiti, with its aggressiveness, it’s a cool way to express a message with a strong impact. Graphic design (and commercial advertisement rules) is the way to create a nice pack, with aesthetics rules recognized by all. We usually work on graphic desing, expecially for the print, so with "Progetto Delta" […]

Derailing A Train Daniel Rothbart Yoko Ono’s Freight Train, a German boxcar riddled with bullet holes, confronts visitors as they cross the interior courtyard of P.S.1. The effect is particularly stark against the snow which covers the ground. Atop the snow is a short segment of railroad track on which rests Ono’s freight car. Its […]