Dreaming on Death Row / Hyperallergic
NASHVILLE — Tennessee is the buckle of the Bible belt, situated below the state of Kentucky and just north of Alabama. The temptation of fried pies, which I was told grandma made (not my Jewish grandma, however), Elvis statues as tourist attractions, and as many...
Selfie Discomfort and the Public Gaze / Hyperallergic
CHICAGO — I have to be honest with you: I feel uncomfortable receiving your selfies. Even though I have asked you for them, and you offered consent through your action of sending them to me. You made a decision to email me something privately, and that I can assure...
On the Origin of Selfies / Hyperallergic
CHICAGO — A selfie is a certain type of self-portrait photography shot with a digital camera or smartphone. Selfies are typically of-the-moment images, require little to no planning, and usually occur in domestic settings such as the bedroom or bathroom. When shot...
What It’s Like to Be the Sole Survivor of a Commercial Airline Disaster / Hyperallergic
CHICAGO — Chicago-based documentary filmmaker Ky Dickens’ newest film, Sole Survivor, tells the stories of four of the 14 sole survivors of commercial airline disasters. In other words, these are the people who survived when everyone else perished as the planes fell...
The Wonderful World of Women in Slacks / Hyperallergic
CHICAGO — Jill Peters’ photo series Sworn Virgins of Albania went viral last week. For the fascinating and honest portrayal of women who live their lives as men, the artist visited the mountain villages of northern Albania where she shot burneshas, or “women who have...
Selfie Criminology / Hyperallergic
CHICAGO — Last month in Halmstad, Sweden, two teenage girls took a selfie together in a bathroom while wearing balaclavas and holding a knife. They would go on to rob a fast-food restaurant making off with a mere $400 before getting arrested. The cops found that...
Styling Booty: Race, Class, and Divas / Hyperallergic
CHICAGO — Stylist Hayley Pisaturo is a diva. In her Instagram photostream, she poses by a California license plate, her fingers making the peace sign and her tongue sticking out just enough to imply cunnilingus, thus ironically sexualizing herself in that white girl...
Agricultural Evolution Leads to the New Garden City / Hyperallergic
CHICAGO — Before centuries of modernization and industry settled in, Gentofte, Denmark, was a simple farming town under the vision of a single lord with 42 serfs. Over the past 200 years, Gentofte has evolved into what is rightly considered a suburb. In the...
Documenting China’s Burgeoning Bra Industry / Hyperallergic
CHICAGO — There’s a 50 square mile area in China between Chendian Town, Chaonan and Gurao Town where most of the brassieres in the world are produced. It is with fascination and awareness of this global market that artist Priscilla Briggs embarked upon her photo...
A Documentary Lays Bare the Gender Bias in Comics / Hyperallergic
CHICAGO — Any reader of comic books knows that accruing a diverse array of volumes is no easy feat. The first four comics on my bookshelves include Allison Bechdel’s 2006 autobiographical “tragicomic” Fun Home, Adrian Tomine’s Shortcomings, about a man named Ben...
Queer Becomings in a Dystopian World / Hyperallergic
CHICAGO — Somewhere in a Neverland-type realm located outside of an urban center, gender-ambiguous characters roam free, constructing their own sexualities, identities, social rules and families. Far from any sort of utopia, a concept that has been popular in queer...
The Making of Urban Agitpop / Hyperallergic
CHICAGO — The self-proclaimed title of “urban pop artist” suits Margarita Korol well. As the one-woman artist/president of her creative practice, Korol blatantly straddles the world of commercial, pop, and fine art, and she’s as much at home in being distributed at...
Detritus Blossoms in an Abandoned Nightclub / Hyperallergic
CHICAGO — The walls were painted pink-and-yellow zigzags, and a cast of characters outfitted in white tuxes and animal heads ignited an abandoned nightclub, turning the space into a carnivalesque, Dada-influenced funhouse without mirrors. This is just one moment from...
When Two Faces Become One / Hyperallergic
CHICAGO — “You have your father’s eyes,” people like to tell me when they meet me and my dad at the same time. Inherited biological traits are commonplace, of course — we are the product of two people mating. French-Canadian photographer Ulric Collette’s photo...
This is Not an Art Selfie / Hyperallergic
CHICAGO — Last week we looked at a few self-portraits by famous artists, classifying these as predecessors to the selfie. Now that anyone can take a photo of themselves and upload it to social media for an insta-audience, the notion of what’s an arty smartphone...
Artist uses Phil Collins, Skype to construct online personae / Salon.com
“In the name of ‘progress,’ our official culture is striving to force the new media to do the work of the old,” writes Marshall McLuhan in his zine/manifesto The Medium Is the Massage. When considered in relation to social networked identities, it’s necessary to think...
For Chicago, Detroit Isn’t a Distant Reality / Salon.com
CHICAGO — Much like the city of Detroit’s epic economic saga, this story took me on a wild goose chase. I’m an art journalist reporting on Detroit from Chicago — or, if you would prefer, the Motor City from the Windy City — and that seems odd. The media craze around...
Ask Me Any (Gendered) Question / Hyperallergic
CHICAGO — Gender is a fun game to play — if you know the rules and are willing to break them accordingly. As I was working on a story about a queer art show here in Chicago, I found myself thinking about the show as a space for cruising, as if in a bathhouse....
Ships Passing in Ohio’s Night / Hyperallergic
CHICAGO — Ohio. It’s not all cornfields, protesters, and lost highways. From Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s song “O-H-I-O” about the 1970 shooting of Kent State students to fascinating and devastating cities like Elyria, a once-thriving steel town, Ohio is an...
The Lost Art of the Self-Portrait / Salon.com
CHICAGO — The selfie is a smartphone-produced version of the self-portrait, which has been a staple of art and photography history since artists first began seeing examining their own images in the mirror. The selfie series here on Hyperallergic has mostly utilized...