“There are few things raunchier than a centerfold of ‘nothing,’” quips critic Bruce Hainley speaking to our preeminent filth elder John Waters in Art: A Sex Book. “The imagination can go wild.” Even with his purposeful witticism, Hainley is right. Sometimes just fractured glimpses of body parts–a hand, a silhouette, a mouth–amidst a sea of … Continue reading
An unintentional side effect of the recent uproar over the inclusion of Dana Schutz’s Open Casket in the Whitney Biennial is it raised important if seemingly self-explanatory questions about how white artists should ethically represent people of color and their experiences. And no, I’m not praising its ill-conceived inclusion as “opening a conversation.” I’m sure … Continue reading
The first thing that hits you upon entering the cavernous space of Greene Naftali is the droning white noise of a dozen industrial grade fans — a noise that, while seemingly neutral and indifferent, could just as easily not register as a consequential sound at all. This mechanically hummed nonsense, which blows hot air into … Continue reading
How do you measure a life? Through jars full of trash gathered during trips to Bourbon Street, Rodeo Drive and the King’s mecca, Graceland? Through a smattering of graveyard dirt collected from the graves of loved ones? Through precisely written tags on toothbrushes and assorted tchotchkes, saved for decades? Through a 585-page inventory? Well, according … Continue reading
Despite being hailed as the most “diverse” Whitney Biennal yet, the most famous works to captivate the nation’s attention managed to continue to be white artists and their struggle. We’re speaking, of course, about Jordan Wolfson’s Real Violence (2017) and Dana Schutz’s Open Casket (2016)–two shocking portrayals of sensationalized violence that centralized white suffering in … Continue reading
The ladies of Sister Sledge knew what they were talking about when they said there was no turning back in their song “Lost In Music.” While the singers meant giving themselves over to the rhythm of disco at the height of its dazzling era, there is, indeed, no turning back now either. Continue reading
As most faithful Filthy Dreams readers will probably know, the shit hit the fan this week over Dana Schutz’s misguided painting Open Casket, which depicts Emmett Till in his casket, at the Whitney Biennial. To be honest, I knew as soon as I saw it at the Biennial press preview that it was a problem. … Continue reading
You can’t argue with the immediate shock of a video depicting a burning rainbow flag. Or, for that matter, a sign that reads “Never Trust A Gay Man” and “Every Gay Man Is A Disappointment,” which echoes a self-loathing but (at least I read) tongue-in-cheek sentiment aired by Milo Yiannopoulos on Real Time With Bill Maher … Continue reading
Is art history–or even just history itself–incompatible with our Western-imposed binary systems and heteronormative thought? Without a doubt, yes, as shown in a groundbreaking and thrilling current exhibition A Third Gender: Beautiful Youths in Japanese Prints at the Japan Society. A Third Gender effectively throws a wrench in historical assumptions of the universality and prevalence of … Continue reading
It was probably the garish pink walls and the gaudy iridescent sea green curtains pushed to the side that drew me into Jeffrey Deitch’s The Florine Stettheimer Collapsed Time Salon at the 2017 incarnation of the Armory Show. I mean, how could I not resist something so irresistibly tacky?! Not to mention, the simply decadent … Continue reading