Scott Elliott and the Theater of the Uncomfortable
Every year there is at least one show I get excited about at The New Group. And then I go. About 50 percent of the time I am completely confused and miserable that I went, 45 percent of the time I'm...
View ArticleHow Have Fame and Fortune Shaped the Business of Being an Artist?
In the second installment of my interview with Rick Kinsel, Executive Director of the Vilcek Foundation, Kinsel offers advice for artists based on over twenty years of experience in the art world. His...
View Article'Big Eyes' and the Real Walter Keane -- "Stranger Than Fiction"
The easiest way to shorthand Margaret and Walter Keane's story is to call it "stranger than fiction." Perhaps we fought for ten years to make a film about them because this was truly one of the most...
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The Klieg And I
While the Kardophiles eagerly await Kim Kardashian Selfish the book from the Numero Uno K on the science behind humected, sleek selfies, Swiss-German photographer Diana Scheunemann has been quietly...
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Sam Wagstaff: The Impresario Who Made Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe is a household name, known for his stunning and often erotic black and white photography. His lifetime lover and patron Samuel Wagstaff is much less known. That may change now with...
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10 Supremely Instagrammable Opportunities for 2014 Art Basel in Miami Beach
The Dream Machine, Courtesy of the weR2 In 2014 it seems every person, place and thing has a virtual stand in, existing in a kind of parallel world on the internet. The effects of these circumstances...
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Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
There's an inner circle that hangs over all our lives, an inner sanctum to which we will never gain admittance. Of course the oedipal chamber, where the primal scene is enacted is the inner circle...
View ArticleAn AIDS Quilt Songbook: Sing for Hope
I've been given quite a few CDs to evaluate and publicize in the past, and I've loved many of them, but none has moved me the way AN AIDS QUILT SONGBOOK: SING FOR HOPE has. I only regret that this post...
View ArticleA Dance Celebration in Chicago at the Auditorium Theater
The Auditorium Theater of Roosevelt University in Chicago is celebrating its 125 Anniversary. The yearlong celebration program is one of the major performing arts series in the country. Premier dance...
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Stage Door: A Christmas Memory, On the Other Side of the River
The story opens with a gentle exclaim: "It's fruitcake weather!" Sook, a 60-something Southern woman, and Buddy, a young boy, embark on their yearly Christmas ritual: baking holiday fruitcakes. The...
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Up There with Victoria's Secret... Bella Bella Boutique Keeps Rising
Bella Bella Boutique is the 6th most Googled lingerie shop in the world... right up there with Victoria's Secret. They are an exquisite lingerie e-boutique offering a carefully edited selection of fine...
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The Influence of Andrew Forge
Andrew Forge Fragment Torso III Oil on Canvas 44 x 36 inches Andrew Forge was an influential painter and teacher for years at Yale among other places. His influence was formative for me and I know for...
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The Archivist's Dilemma: Q&A With Oddball Films' Stephen Parr
While working on my new film in the Bay Area this summer, I had the good fortune of being introduced to Stephen Parr and his massive 6000 sq. ft. archive aptly named Oddball Films. My colleagues and I...
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Intimidated By Miami Art Week? Don't Be
While most of Art Basel and the satellite fairs seem to be crowded with locals, I think the majority of visitors are out-of-towners or the usual Miami party people. It seems to me like the "real"...
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Once Again, Air Force Band Surprises and Delights
U.S. Air Force men and women fly and maintain some of the most sophisticated aircraft in the world. They do many other things and do them well. One of them is playing beautiful music, and singing...
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Holiday Reads: 10 Recent Books on Art and Culture
One of the joys of being an art writer is getting to know many other writers in my field over time. In the case of Britta Erickson, I have actually known her for over 35 years (we attended college...
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'The Patron Saint of Sideshow,' The Found Theatre, Long Beach, CA
"The Patron Saint of Sideshow," a documentary filmed and directed by Mike Brown for the Found Theatre, is an enchanting Puff the Magic Dragon tale. It recounts the making of "One Tit Wonder," Cynthia...
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Theatre of the Seriously Disturbed
Why are some theatres like salad bars? The answer is simpler than you might expect. If you attend a production whose set is in full view as the audience enters the theatre, all kinds of possibilities...
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Gone For Good: The Long Lost Works Of English Literature
Sadly it's not uncommon for writers and authors to leave manuscripts unfinished at the time of their death. Charles Dickens's Mystery of Edwin Drood ends without the mystery ever being solved. The 11...
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Yung Gleesh (Video)
Yung Gleesh is not about to provide anyone with a step-by-step guide to success. "There aren't steps that you can follow to get where I got. I can't break it down," he drawls in a thick, smoky twang....
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