Art
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An Epic, Three Year Prank to Try to Convince a Young Man That he is Destined to Save the Human Race
Piero Manzoni once canned his own shit, called it art, and sold it for its weight in gold. It was part of an early sixties backlash against the art market.
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Lovelace and Babbage comic – It’s about time
I’ve always wondered why Ada Lovelace, first female computer programmer, only legitimate child of Lord Byron, the person I idolized in high school, hasn’t been more glorified in culture, seeing as she was one of the first females to envision…
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Detroit’s Brewster Projects: What’s Left
Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson and Mary Wilson lived out their early lives in the Brewster Projects in Detroit, the first federally funded public housing for African Americans. Unfortunately, the abode of these legends of the lyric is falling to pieces.…
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Politics, Art, and “Paradox”
“Vision of art.” “King for a day.” “Looking for that last big idea.” These are just a few of the smashed together words and phrases that make up John Wilkes Booth’s head in Christian Verdun’s online art piece “paradox.” The…
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Pretty Babies
In December 2008, online photos of the Simpsons characters performing sexual acts were legally deemed child pornography, prompting Columbia University professor Anne Higonnet to question why we use our limited resources on cases against pictures of children, rather than for…
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The Beautiful Nightmares of Roberto Bolaño’s 2666
Prior to launching The Rumpus, during our test phase, we ran this incredible, thorough, and thoughtful review of Roberto Bolano’s 2666 by Michael Berger. Today seemed like a good day to bring it back. – SE
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I Want You to Want Me
What stopped me was the fact that Nomadagascar was not just another attractive stranger on a dating website. I had seen this photograph before. His real name is Jonathan Harris, and I was familiar with the artwork to which his…
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What You Think is Sad: Gabriele Basilico and San Francisco Noir
She always knew it would come to this. A screaming horde of bucknaked smutcrazed rapists banging on her glass ticket kiosk. She crossed herself and with a single prayer commended her soul to the Lord’s Everafter and consigned her flesh…
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Skin Deep – The Naked People Project
The idea behind Sebastian Kempa’s latest photographic endeavor, The Naked People Project, is simple: Photograph people with their clothes on and then, with a simple click of the computer mouse, watch as their clothes disappear and transform into glorious nudity.
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Big Books, Little Books
Kindle, iPhone, Stanza, “media pads,” whatever. Sick of news about things you can’t afford that do things you don’t need done? Head to the Donna Seager Gallery and put your little mits and screen-numbed eyes on the dope selection of…
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A Winsome Ode to Justice
The search for the origins of handling human error is the subject of Maira Kalman’s latest post, May It Please the Court. In this installment of her monthly New York Times column And the Pursuit of Happiness, Kalman continues to…