The ATW Feed

Jonathan Jones of The Guardian explores the powerful, womanizing image history gives of Picasso versus what he sees as an intensely intellectual, thoughtful image maker. He asserts that even the act of observing a Picasso requires great cognitive leaps for the viewer, in that we must figure out the environment and story depicted. More interesting, perhaps, than Jones’ article is the comments section, in which the dialogue immediately turns to debate, discussion, and grappling. 

Personally, I would be more inclined to agree with Jones’s writing if he were to use more evidence instead of making assertions without support (a complaint you’ll also find in the comments section).

Hey, ATW followers! What do YOU think?

(Source: )

Antonio Manfredi of the Casoria Contemporary Art Museum has had a somewhat unusual reaction to Italy’s massive cuts in arts funding over the last few years. In burning first some of his own works and then, with artist’s permission, methodically burning pieces of renowned contemporary art work in protest of the cuts, Manfredi hopes to make a statement about the ludicrous funding cuts, the vitality of the arts, and the importance of preserving and proliferating culture in good economic times and bad. Click the link and read to find out more about these events and more! 

(Source: artthisweek)

Artist Barry Stone shares thoughts on nostalgia and memory through the lens (pun definitely intended) of photography. A thoughtful exploration into what makes this particular artist tick. …might be good always brings forward-thinking and fascinating discussions of contemporary art and thought in Texas and beyond. If you haven’t already added it to your reading list, you MUST do so immediately!

Also… Come and visit us at The ATW Feed and Art This Week! We want to hear from you! Comments? Suggestions? Let us know!

(via EPISODE: “History” | Art21 | PBS)

Art21 interviews Glenn Ligon, Marina Abramovic, and Mary Reid Kelley through the lens of history. Enjoy!

In an effort to identify long-lost identities of sitters in pre-19th Century paintings, the FACES project will use anti-terrorist facial recognition software to try to match names to faces.

How cool is THAT?  

FrontRow Dallas briefly discusses Cynthia Mulcahy’s recent public art work, Seventeen Hundred Seeds. A beautiful idea of how to re-purpose a vacant public space for a community-driven exploration of art, society, and history. 

If you’re looking for more art news, information, and events, please come and find us at The ATW Feed and Art This Week!

(via Kehinde Wiley on the World Stage - Studio 360)

D Magazine chronicles growing concerns for the Dallas Arts District as construction of Museum Tower continues. It seems the sheer amount of glass and the height of the building combined with the powerful North Texas sun is enough to cook the surrounding plants and endanger artworks in the Dallas Museum of Art and the Nasher Sculpture Center.

The main question raised in the article is how in the world a multi-million dollar construction project (which markets itself in terms of the surrounding museums) could be built without considering the possible ramifications to its surroundings? 

Blake Gopnik of The Daily Beast paints a picture of the Contemporary art scene in Qatar. The money being flung around to establish an art culture and the lack of an existing museum culture shed an interesting light on the newly wealthy nation. Despite blockbuster exhibitions of Modern, Contemporary, and even traditional pieces, the QMA seems to be fighting an uphill battle to cultivate a museum-going culture. 

GOOD Education briefly touches on the idea of creativity in schools and in today’s society. The thought is that creativity would be encouraged more in students if they were simply told consistently that they are creative. If a student believes that they aren’t creative, they aren’t going to go out of their way to exercise their creativity. 

What say you, education types?