Louise Bourgeois

Louise Bourgeois has died, aged 98. She was an intensely powerful artist in every sense of the word, as the documentary The Spider, The Mistress, and The Tangerine reveals.

French state and legal action

The French state is taking legal action against the mayor who closed Zineb Sedira's exhibition because of its offensive qualities.

What? An example for us to follow stateside...

Vasnetsov

A step back from the contemporary art I usually post about: Viktor Mikailovich Vasnetsov, 19th century Russian painter, finds a historical place with his mythological scenes. As is typical for Russian art of the period, however, the fantastic masks deep political and social concerns. 

The now-disgraced Orlando Figes writes in Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia that Vasnetsov "turned to Russian legends as a new way to approach the national theme." Works like 1878's Knight at the Crossroads inserted the legacy of a storied history into contemporary cultural discourse, reworking myth into allegorical commentary. The contested history of Russia, kept alive as it was redrawn to suit political expediency, became a living, breathing part of Vasnetsov's art. How, I wonder, does his use of political/mythological history differ from the work of contemporary artists like Matthew Barney?

An my Le

Night Operations by An my Le.

Orlando Aquije

Via Gradient.

Eirik Johnson

Eirik Johnson's Sawdust Mountain series has been getting plenty of press lately, from Aperture to NPR. I've always wondered what Robert Frank or Alec Soth would make of my home turf, and Johnson's interpretation is telling in many ways; although his series intrigues and shows undeniable photographic skill, I find it hard to be moved by the objects and views I see on a daily basis. His camera doesn't quite transform them into something new, or reveal much that I haven't learned from frequent observation.

Still, worth checking out for those who don't live their lives amid fallen timber and dead salmon.

Jose Guerrero

Check it.

Andrew Moore in Russia

Andrew Moore's Russia portfolio.

Round up

• Christopher Knight reviews Bart Exposito.
• Remote imaging of the Gulf oil spill produces an intriguing photograph.
• A prominent Thai general is shot during an interview with the NY Times, complete with photograph.
• On teaching art to scientists.
• Helmar Larski.

Todd Hido

Todd Hido's 'Homes at Night' series taps into the same unsettling, Lynchian world as Gregory Crewdson, but with more subtlety.

Greg Girard

A statement at Conscientious Extended.

Fiona Tan at VAG

I'm looking forward to the Fiona Tan show at Vancouver Art Gallery. Tan is one of the more intelligent video artists working today, considering the issue of self-representation while side-stepping the fashionable cliches that so many artists fall back on. More at Frith Street Gallery.

Two great [recent] record covers

Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma

 Four Tet - There Is Love In You

Richard Renaldi

From Richard Renaldi's 'Pier 45' series.

Hip-hop photography

Documenting the glory days of analog hip-hop.

DJ Spooky

DJ Spooky weaves theories of musique concrete, an affinity for John Cage, and the aesthetic sensibilities of Rauschenberg and Johns into an understanding of the remix as cultural metaphor. Ubuweb has a 45 minute long interview with him posted for download.

Steve Pyke

The New Yorker blog has been on fire lately, with a great post on Alvaro Ybarra Zavala. They also posted about Steve Pyke's photography recently. He crafts sensitive, informed portraits.

Brian Cross

http://www.mochilla.com/bplus