Comments for Hyperallergic

Comment on 10 Shows to See in Upstate New York This August by Russell Christian

Russell Christian — Fri, 01 Aug 2025 12:27:27 +0000

A beautiful selection of shows. If I might add: Steve Greene at Monument Gallery, in Kingston, opening tonight, and Kate Dodd at Jane Street, in Saugerties (closing tomorrow with a gallery talk.

Comment on Ruth Asawa Proved That Mothering Is Inherently Artistic by Christopher Pelham

Christopher Pelham — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 15:50:32 +0000

Lovely, thank you!

Comment on How My Museum’s Celebration of America’s 250th Birthday Got Complicated by KC

KC — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 13:02:52 +0000

patriotism is much, much more than ‘an iota’ of politics, as even your anonymous trustee knows.

Comment on No Other Land Contributor Killed by Israeli Settler by JK Hall

JK Hall — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 22:25:28 +0000

Awdah Hathaleen is another tragedy in an ocean of Palestinian tragedies. Another innocent murdered by a Jewish squatter. Oscar-winning film ‘No Other Land’ is “not available at home or in theaters” in the U.S., according to Rotten Tomatoes website. It has effectively been censored in the Land of Freedom. Why is that? And why have we tolerated the rank atrocity that has transpired before our eyes in Gaza?!

Comment on A Glimpse Inside the Dizzying Psyche of Daniel Johnston by Maya Pontone

Maya Pontone — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 20:56:56 +0000

In reply to Wayson Jones. Thank you for your comment. The exoticization of mental illness in the arts is a widespread problem, and I'll definitely keep your feedback in mind.

Comment on A Paean to the Bygone “Borscht Belt” by Jozie Rabyor

Jozie Rabyor — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 06:56:10 +0000

Sounds fascinating! What’s are scopes?

Comment on A Glimpse Inside the Dizzying Psyche of Daniel Johnston by Wayson Jones

Wayson Jones — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 23:30:06 +0000

As an artist who deals with mental health issues, I find this absolutely patronizing. With respect to the artist, the drawings are crappy. Typical of the worst of the “outsider” art ethos, and of Hyperallegic’s regretable tendency to privilege politics over formal soundness. The mentally ill artist is exotified as usual. Everyone seems to love that van Gogh was so ill that he cut off his own ear(!). Even the artist lacks the f#&%ing sense to not joke about it.

Comment on Andres Serrano Proposes Trump Altar for the Venice Biennale by KC

KC — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 17:04:02 +0000

what would Hans Haacke do?

Comment on A Paean to the Bygone “Borscht Belt” by crkahn52

crkahn52 — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 13:18:22 +0000

A real blast from the past. I took photos that we sold to guests in ‘scopes’ at the Concord.

Comment on Manufacturing “Black Fatigue” in the Art World by Jon Goldman

Jon Goldman — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 17:12:34 +0000

Mr. Davis- I understand your inclination to mine and bring to the fore the work of “black and brown faces”. I appreciate that effort within the context of cultural equanimity and in the course of raising all boats in a rising tide. However, basing things primarily on market presence, sales and cultural hegemony, neglects so much else such as meaning, representation and the impetus to create as to become its own tangent. I think in the race to differentiate, or on the part of the power structure that offers opportunity to any one in the creative class, the financial motivation completely distorts the “optics.” Culturally this is based (at least in the last forty years’ concentration) on the cult of celebrity, favoring notoriety as the societal need to right a ship through inclusion. I am all for inclusion and the obliteration of the collector’s set of pigeon holes and for the elevation of all creative output. But I have to ask, having seen a surge in the presentation of women and POC, will there be a point where identity, as a sense of collective navel gazing becomes saturated? Will there ever be equity that satisfies that need to have the boat balanced? Is financial stardom the only real arbiter or goal of what Art has become? To me, it is defined by Time more than money. But if it is pinned to the empty whims of the status-seeking competitive collector set newly coined with the wherewithal to obsessively consume culture, ideas, skill, artistic development and originality are sacrificed to the misperceptions of an ownership society. “New” or “underrepresented” voices will always be standing in line with faces pressed against the glass at all ranges of their careers every one with a myriad of skin color, gender orientation, ideologies, medium, all clamouring for acceptance and a sense of belonging to the rich culture they are exposed to. With the malevolence of cancel culture as expressed through the shrinking funding and venue opportunities, I look to the critics to understand and present the possibilities of a strategic equity that doesn’t apotheosisize domination, that challenges the paradigm of ownership, but instead champions the legitimacy of an artistic livelihood with output from a creative class which is seen as critically necessary as health care professionals, legal professionals, teachers.

Comment on Andres Serrano Proposes Trump Altar for the Venice Biennale by David Pennington

David Pennington — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 12:42:45 +0000

“who’s zoomin’ who ?”

Comment on How to Get a Read on Rashid Johnson by David Frankfurter

David Frankfurter — Sun, 27 Jul 2025 14:26:18 +0000

Super-thoughtful review! In a show this sprawling, though, I think any artist is going to be including too much stuff to have a coherent message. One theme I did notice, though, was the construction of a masculine domestic imaginary: the book cases, the mirrors, the plants, and the video that Rodney points out. This isn’t the only theme, but it’s one that emerged for me in an otherwise sprawling retrospective.

Comment on Andres Serrano Proposes Trump Altar for the Venice Biennale by Sandy Sanders

Sandy Sanders — Sat, 26 Jul 2025 19:16:58 +0000

For some reason my comment posted yesterday disappeared, so here goes again…

Serrano is absolutely brilliant. A wizard. That he declared Trump’s endorsement of his 2019 work “comical” tells everyone what we need to know. He is presenting. That’s it. Trump self describes his monumental ego every minute of every day and rolls in his self glory like a pig in mud. That US elites, and unfortunately society, have placed this empire building con man at it’s helm to drive US empire over the 99% of the world like a military tank, is the ultimate irony. It seems to me, as I “interpret” this work, that as in other of Serrano’s works, he is presenting what he sees, in forms that clearly focus on representations that are projected into our daily lives. Those representations, rather than being seen as representations, manifest mass behaviors, social programming if you will. Like the American flag, or any flag. It’s just an image. As Mark Twain points out “patriotism is the refuge of the scoundrel”. That we know this self-proclaimed exceptionalism, abroad and domestically, yet cheer the flag that cloaks a brutal exploitative empire, is the highest irony. Presenting this to the world’s most important visual art forum, in a self declarative form, is a coming out for US empire. Serrano’s proposal photo of the US Pavilion, and the show, is a deeply deserved, self-delivered, punch in the nose.

Thank you, Andres!!!

Comment on Amy Sherald Cancels Smithsonian Show, Citing Censorship of Trans Artwork by Lolly Owens

Lolly Owens — Sat, 26 Jul 2025 15:25:07 +0000

She has integrity and knows her heart.

Comment on Amy Sherald Cancels Smithsonian Show, Citing Censorship of Trans Artwork by Augusta CG

Augusta CG — Sat, 26 Jul 2025 13:08:59 +0000

Sherald come out as the winner on this one! Kudos!

Comment on Bidding Adieu to Art Deco’s Democratic Dream by Augusta CG

Augusta CG — Sat, 26 Jul 2025 12:53:26 +0000

Such a useful, insightful overview. As to the symbolism of the Chrysler building, I encourage reading Federico García Lorca’s “Grito hacia Roma (Desde la torre del Chrysler Building)”, a rebuke of the 1929 marriage of fascism and the Catholic Church signaled by the Lateran treaty, a rebuke launched from New York’s shrine to early 20th century capitalism. Lorca counterposes the two domes —Chrysler and St. Peter— and the systems of thought they embody in the brutal condemnation of inhumane tyranny.

Comment on Andres Serrano Proposes Trump Altar for the Venice Biennale by Samalan

Samalan — Sat, 26 Jul 2025 06:33:02 +0000

Serrano did not “plunge [a crucifix] into a receptacle of his own urine on the National Endowment for the Arts’ dime.” He composed, shot and printed the photograph before entering it into the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art’s “Awards in the Visual Arts” competition, which was sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Comment on Andres Serrano Proposes Trump Altar for the Venice Biennale by Laura Franz

Laura Franz — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 13:00:44 +0000

It’s intellectually lazy to be asked asked one’s intention and reply: “My work is always open to interpretation, even my ideas are open to interpretation.” ALL work, all ideas are open to interpretation. We’re going to do the work on our end, he should man up and do the work on his. Because whether Serrano intends it to be ironic or not, the fact that’s he’s gone from “Piss Christ” to “The Game” is freaking spectacular. (From “spectacle” = The Middle English “specially prepared or arranged display.”)

Comment on Amy Sherald Cancels Smithsonian Show, Citing Censorship of Trans Artwork by JK Hall

JK Hall — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 03:23:12 +0000

Bravo to Amy Sherald for standing up to the chicken-shit censors! Shame on the Smithsonian.

Comment on Bidding Adieu to Art Deco’s Democratic Dream by JK Hall

JK Hall — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 21:39:55 +0000

Superb article! In addition, once seen, there is no forgetting Cincinnati’s Union Terminal. It is one of the last great American train stations and “one of the most widely regarded examples of the art deco style.”

Comment on Bidding Adieu to Art Deco’s Democratic Dream by DecodivaRex

DecodivaRex — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 17:14:43 +0000

This is as good a brief summation of deco and its spirit as I’ve ever read. And I’m a deco diva!

Comment on The Communal Roots of Ben Shahn’s Social Realism by kim lakin

kim lakin — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 22:43:01 +0000

Thanks for this article. Ben Shahn was a favorite of my parents and I grew up seeing his work in books and posters around our house. He deserves more attention. Especially in this era.

Comment on The Communal Roots of Ben Shahn’s Social Realism by Terry Martin

Terry Martin — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 18:30:18 +0000

Great review! Thank you.

Comment on Why Does Elon Musk Have Such a Straight View of Antiquity? by Deborah O'Grady

Deborah O'Grady — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 15:18:32 +0000

Someone please send Mr. Musk a copy of “Memoirs of Hadrian.” Amazing book and it would be eye-opening for him given the depth of Marguerite Yourcenar’s research in writing the book.

Comment on The Communal Roots of Ben Shahn’s Social Realism by Pamela Hastings

Pamela Hastings — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 14:07:00 +0000

Thank you. Shahn has long been one of my favorite artists. It is instructive to see how his political commentary is still being subverted. Art Can Be Powerful.
Pamela Hastings

Comment on Remembering Arnaldo Pomodoro, Who Uncovered Worlds Within Sculptures by Craig Brod

Craig Brod — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 00:29:26 +0000

Most of us need art to stay sane. The sadness of Gaza and the squandered potential of the world are infuriating—and to your point about your friend, devastating. I can only hope that you will continue his voice for beauty. Thank you,
Craig Brod

Comment on Ancient Egyptian Coffin Paintings Suggest Awareness of Milky Way by Alex Clark

Alex Clark — Sat, 19 Jul 2025 17:45:33 +0000

I love ancient Egyptian art, have studied it, and been influenced by it, over many years. I’m not an Egyptologist by any means, but I find the descriptive ‘first visual depiction of the Milky Way’ a bit of a stretch. I get that Nut’s undulating curves might be related to a visual response to observing the Milky Way, but it’s not exactly accurate, and the accompanying stars, for example, are purely decorative elements. Interesting article though, and I’d like to think there’s a Milky Way connection!

Comment on Art Comes Naturally in Upstate New York by Eva Bovenzi

Eva Bovenzi — Sat, 19 Jul 2025 16:20:20 +0000

Noah—It’s great to see this here! I love what you’re doing with the comic strip format these days. Bravo!

Comment on Annie Leibovitz Shoots Fifty Shades of Anne Hathaway by courtneyclamb

courtneyclamb — Sat, 19 Jul 2025 14:29:40 +0000

Leibovitz is certainly not known for social commentary, but these read to me as grim images appropriate to a time of high anxiety and in stark contrast to the celebration of wealth and privilege in the Sargents.

Comment on Annie Leibovitz Shoots Fifty Shades of Anne Hathaway by Roz Dimon

Roz Dimon — Sat, 19 Jul 2025 10:28:00 +0000

These are gorgeous! Photography that becomes a painting — what a brilliant expansion of the medium. Brava Annie Leibowitz and Anne Hathaway.

Comment on Ruth Asawa Showed Us the Way to an Artistic Life by Amrita

Amrita — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 17:06:00 +0000

Thanks for a wonderful article.
What an incredible, staggering artist! She was the real deal. And it’s true that this SFMoma show, while sprawling, is oddly clinical; it only hints at her miraculous, warm and rich life. This viewer also would have appreciated something more on her foundational experiences. The show of the work is wonderful, but the presence of her spirit is fleeting. (Which leads to the question: what makes the Jack Whitten show at NYC Moma succeed on this point?)

Comment on My Dialogues With a Political Prisoner by Lincoln Cushing

Lincoln Cushing — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 16:02:24 +0000

Thanks for this. I’m one of those old lefties who has vigorously defended the accomplishments of the Cuban revolution, and I’ve been smacked with censorship when trying to exhibit posters on that subject, but incarcerating artists (oops, “intrusos”) is never a good look.

Comment on Annie Leibovitz Shoots Fifty Shades of Anne Hathaway by Kenneth Goody

Kenneth Goody — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 12:38:32 +0000

Please tell me what is ‘correct’ lighting for a fashion shoot meant to be? What a ridiculous line of criticism – frankly, nothing more than disguised misogyny and agism.

Comment on Annie Leibovitz Shoots Fifty Shades of Anne Hathaway by Mateo Gutierrez

Mateo Gutierrez — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 10:21:33 +0000

I think they are really poor photos, end of story. I’m a painter, artist, care about composition, care about there not being “standards” and that art is meant to convey a larger commentary than fashion photo rights and wrongs, and maybe Liebowitz was breaking those down for us, but at the end of the day, if I didn’t know, I’d say these look like just poorly constructed, poorly lit, not well thought out and just uninteresting photos. Whatever – at the end of the day, that’s also my subjective opinion and Brian Eno or anyone else can love them for a whole other set of reasons. I think Vogue is utterly boring anyhow, and when the photos are more classic high-fashion I find them stupid looking. So maybe these are just honest and raw and Liebowitz is saying: f-you consumerism. Ok. I like them.

Comment on The Brilliance and Privilege of Jane Austen and Julia Margaret Cameron by Barbara GRAD

Barbara GRAD — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 22:24:41 +0000

Thank you for this thoughtful review. Being a woman artist who had a full time art college teaching position to support my life, I have often wondered about the support that was freely given to artists with inherited funds and society stature. So many talented artists work hard and yet never quite break thru the glass ceiling into historical records. I don’t see acknowledging this is done very often. It is a pleasure to read this.

Comment on Annie Leibovitz Shoots Fifty Shades of Anne Hathaway by sdala

sdala — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 20:47:37 +0000

I think Leibovitz knew exactly what she was doing, and if Hathaway had issues with the images, they would have been “color corrected” or they would not have run. This writer’s assertion that she “does not care” is belied by the her criticism: “I am not here to tell a woman to smile or wear a bra, no matter how harsh the lighting or exacting the expectations…(then don’t). “But it perhaps does bear mentioning that for people of even more advanced age, cataracts can sometimes affect color vision, and maybe someone — not saying who — should look into finding a good ophthalmologist” Really? Ageist much? Missing the point of the images much? This is completely off base for Hyperallergic. How did it ever make it into print?

Comment on Annie Leibovitz Shoots Fifty Shades of Anne Hathaway by Amrita

Amrita — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 15:35:19 +0000

Loving Anne’s photo in front of Madame X. What a beauty!

Comment on Annie Leibovitz Shoots Fifty Shades of Anne Hathaway by constance hansen

constance hansen — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 14:25:04 +0000

Annie knows what she’s doing and so does the digital tech and the group of professional assistants that assist her…she’s not dragging the lights around or capturing the images So no, you might dislike the images but it has nothing to do with Annie’s age or eyes…This article reeks of ageism. It’s a mean spirited article and has no value. Wondering why Hyperallergic published it.

Comment on Buffalo Museum Cancels Event After Backlash Against Texas Flood Cartoon by Joanne Tarlin

Joanne Tarlin — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 12:08:25 +0000

My apologies, Zyglis.

Comment on Buffalo Museum Cancels Event After Backlash Against Texas Flood Cartoon by Joanne Tarlin

Joanne Tarlin — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 12:02:47 +0000

The cartoon is necessary in our time where visual literacy is often greater than the ability to have an attention span and facility to digest detailed information. Humor helps folks retain the image. Ziglar’s cartoon illustrates what many of us think. It does not negate our sympathy for the families who lost loved ones.

Comment on Buffalo Museum Cancels Event After Backlash Against Texas Flood Cartoon by Lorin Duckman

Lorin Duckman — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 16:01:13 +0000

Support a free press and the first amendment.

Comment on Annie Leibovitz Shoots Fifty Shades of Anne Hathaway by Brian Eno

Brian Eno — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 15:26:57 +0000

I love these pictures – and mostly for the reasons some of you don’t like them. In an age of perfect perfectibility it’s interesting when somebody decides not to make all the little adjustments that would turn it into just another perfect picture. I especially like the dynamism that the asymmetry produces.

Comment on Annie Leibovitz Shoots Fifty Shades of Anne Hathaway by Laura Franz

Laura Franz — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 15:14:25 +0000

Annie Leibovitz knows exactly what she’s doing. The color in the portrait in front of “Madame X” — transitioning from slightly golden to slightly green to slightly blue across the background with subtle references to pick skin both in “Madame X” and in Anne Hathaway takes skill and knowledge about color. It’s OK to not “like” it.

I think it’s telling that Leibovitz created a series that disturbs us, makes us uncomfortable, makes us wonder why she’s making the choices she’s making and what story she wants to tell… and folks respond with saying there is something wrong with her eyes or her technique. Nothing wrong with either. We just don’t like what she’s showing us.

Comment on Annie Leibovitz Shoots Fifty Shades of Anne Hathaway by Jennifer Ley

Jennifer Ley — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 14:23:09 +0000

So easy to be a critic! So easy to be witty! And please, as a woman of an even more “uncertain age” that phrase should not be seeing print in the 21st century. Given the intense and thorough creative chain of command at Vogue, to think that these photographs are color corrected in anyway other than Leibovitz intended is critical conceit at its highest. Brava Annie! The golden hued Whitney photo especially bothers me. And I am so grateful you had the nerve to do that. Bother is good.

Comment on Annie Leibovitz Shoots Fifty Shades of Anne Hathaway by Tracey Riese

Tracey Riese — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 12:10:02 +0000

Perhaps Liebowitz is making both an art-historical AND an art-criticism reference. The critics complained about Madame X at the time, and for many of the same reasons they are complaining about the Liebowitz/Hathaway portrait. The Times said of what we now recognize as one of Sargent’s greatest paintings, “”Sargent is below his usual standard this year… The pose of the figure is absurd, and the bluish coloring atrocious.” The artist often knows better than we do.

Comment on Annie Leibovitz Shoots Fifty Shades of Anne Hathaway by SU FRIEDRICH

SU FRIEDRICH — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 11:26:17 +0000

LOL colors were way off before I had cataract surgery a few years ago, and everything was sort of dim and cloudy. Looks like Liebowitz is due for an appt. with her ophthalmologist…

Comment on Annie Leibovitz Shoots Fifty Shades of Anne Hathaway by Seyburn Zorthian

Seyburn Zorthian — Sun, 13 Jul 2025 15:11:08 +0000

I think the photos are very interesting but I am not looking at them as a fashion “seller”. To me (I am a painter), they are compositions, and, as such, have brought into consideration how to construct the various elements, including objects, environment, color and light. Is it the best way to feature the fashion statement or Anne Hathaway? I think that’s the issue here; it’s 2 different perspectives. I trust that Annie was very aware of the colors and lighting she was using and why, to create her artistic expression. Vogue obviously accepted them, or they wouldn’t have been released for us to criticize.

Comment on Massive Mural of Ashamed Statue of Liberty Emerges in France by Myrtis Bedolla

Myrtis Bedolla — Sat, 12 Jul 2025 22:36:34 +0000

Excellent article!

Comment on The Wild, Inclusive Brilliance of New York’s Pyramid Club by Yasmin Dixon

Yasmin Dixon — Sat, 12 Jul 2025 13:16:15 +0000

…Snooky Tate, The Looters, The Offs, Butch Lust and the Hypocrites… to name a few…Pyramid Club was the scene ….amongst others in the East Village/Soho/Harlem…of my post grad education…

Comment on Why Take a Selfie in 2025? by Carolee Moore

Carolee Moore — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 13:44:12 +0000

In reply to JBR.

Hi JBR – I appreciate your approach to self portraits but I believe the category is very broad and that selfies are a sub-category of self portraiture and so much more revealing than a painted or sculpted selfie. The first photographic selfie goes (so far as we know) to Robert Cornelius in 1839. Now there was a guy willing to sit still for 10 or so minutes to get his selfie. Not sure that patience exists today!
Carolee