There’s No Memorial Like Merch: What The Hell Is With The Keith Haring X Barbie?
Art / Trash

There’s No Memorial Like Merch: What The Hell Is With The Keith Haring X Barbie?

Does Barbie know about AIDS? Does she know her new friend Keith Haring died of complications from AIDS? These are the questions, some of many, I found myself considering when I discovered last week to both horror and amusement that Mattel produced, in collaboration with the Keith Haring Foundation, the Keith Haring X Barbie® who … Continue reading

“Little Ladies: Victorian Fashion Dolls and the Feminine Ideal” Needs More Than Just Beautiful Objects
Art / Fashion

“Little Ladies: Victorian Fashion Dolls and the Feminine Ideal” Needs More Than Just Beautiful Objects

Little Ladies: Victorian Fashion Dolls and the Feminine Ideal, on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art until March, is a curious show that seems to be trying to navigate between two opposing poles. On the one hand, Little Ladies is clearly meant to delight, drawing on the museum’s permanent collection to showcase the incredible … Continue reading

5(ish) Films and Videos For People Who Don’t Want To Go Outside This Memorial Day Weekend
Film

5(ish) Films and Videos For People Who Don’t Want To Go Outside This Memorial Day Weekend

Aa…aaaa…AAAAA…CHOO! Whew! *blows nose* Why hello there, dearest Filthy Dreams readers! I don’t know about you but I’ve been honking and horking my way through this holiday weekend. Mary, I’m about ready to give it up and start living in a bubble full-time like a hamster or Wayne Coyne from The Flaming Lips. Maybe I’ll … Continue reading

Just Turn On With Me And You’re Not Alone: “A Selection From The Greer Lankton Archive” At The Mattress Factory
Art

Just Turn On With Me And You’re Not Alone: “A Selection From The Greer Lankton Archive” At The Mattress Factory

In her essay “Video Remains: Nostalgia, Technology and Queer Archive Activism,” Alexandra Juhasz discusses the importance of “queer archive activism” in preserving the lives of queer folks. Speaking in reference to her own documentary Video Remains, Juhasz explains, “It is not our suffering that is compelling but our willingness to name and record it, and in so doing, make communal and move into the present” (328). Continue reading

Who Was Mike Kelley?: A Genealogy Of Dangerous Blue-Collar Trash Aesthetics (Part 1)
Art

Who Was Mike Kelley?: A Genealogy Of Dangerous Blue-Collar Trash Aesthetics (Part 1)

From his early witty birdhouse sculptures to his use of dirty stuffed animals and bargain bin remnants to his enormous installations such as “Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstructions #2-32 (Day Is Done)” and “Kandors,” Mike Kelley’s overwhelming and engrossing retrospective currently at MoMA PS1 asserts the importance of Kelley’s transgressive and brave aesthetic. Continue reading