Beeple (b. 1981), EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS, 2021. Non-fungible token (jpg). 21,069 x 21,069 pixels (319,168,313 bytes). Minted on 16 February 2021. Starting Bid: $100. Hammer price: 6.6 million. Offered as a single lot sale concurrently with First Open. Online, 25 February to 11 March On this episode of Explain Me we do a deep dive on Non-Fungible Tokens, NFTs, pronounced Nifty, by also…

Documentation of R.M. Vaughan’s “Super-Diviner” (2014) at Videofag, Toronto Some experiences I wish I could recall with perfect clarity vanish almost as soon as they occur. Artist and writer RM Vaughan’s “Super-Diviner” (2014) performance marks one such instance: an unusually perceptive tarot reading I still regret forgetting. Held at the now defunct Toronto artspace Videofag, visitors were…

In this episode of Explain Me, we continue our conversation with Artnet’s National Critic Ben Davis as we take stock of 2020.  In this episode:  We discuss the biases of algorithm sorting Ben Davis coins the term cultural inflation, a term that refers to franchise media properties. We examine the relevance of ART CLUB 2000 the recent subject of Ben Davis’ review, Why the New ART CLUB2000…

In this episode of Explain Me, we take stock of the year in art with Artnet’s National Critic Ben Davis. What happened in the art world in 2020?  We ask this knowing that we obviously have not seen a lot of art or attended anything remotely like a normal opening. But, a lot happened this year, even if we experienced it all at a distance. We know that, with the vaccine slowly rolling out now,…

It’s 2018, and you are likely starting to think about your taxes. You may also be wondering what’s in the newly passed tax legislation (officially the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” or TCJA) and how it’s going to affect you. Here is some help, specifically targeted for freelancers and creative economy workers. To be clear, the 2017 taxes you file in the next few months will be based on the rules you…

Buckminster Fuller – Dome Over Manhattan (1961) Auctionata is finally kicking the bucket. [Press Release via artnet News] Just what this city needs—a new survey show of contemporary art. Because the Whitney Biennale, the New Museum Triennial and the endless art fair season isn’t already enough. This one will be launched by the Wallach Art Gallery at Columbia University in New York and will be a…

Installation View: Beki Basch’s “Vision Quest Lundi: Flush / Flood” at Current Gallery. The next week is a good time to do some art-seeing on the westside of downtown Baltimore. Michael Jones McKean’s commission from The Contemporary has transformed an old department store into a dystopian museum and it’s teriffying and great. You can check it out by appointment until May 31st, when it will be…

Installation view of Sinister Feminism at A.I.R. Gallery (Courtesy the artists and A.I.R. Gallery) Sinister Feminism A.I.R. Gallery 155 Plymouth Street Brooklyn, NY On view until February 5, 2017 One of the few positive side effects of Trump’s chaotic pussy-grabbing rise to power is the revitalization of feminism as an active political tool. Between the Women’s March and women-driven exhibitions…

Thanks to last week’s internet flea market “Internet Yami-ichi”, we were introduced to Marco Rosella‘s GIFs. I paid just $1 for a USB drive in the shape of key that held 100 of Rosella’s GIFs. The project gets a nod for packaging, but to be honest the result is a bit disappointing. The animation categories map back to his projects, so the GIFs are little more than promotion. I guess some props…

The iconic black censorship band has come to symbolize outdated moral shock, to the extent that we primarily understand it now as a gag prop for Halloween costumes and mock-1950s tchotchke in the West. But in Turkey, the media still embraces its original use: under sensational headlines about sexual abuse, such as “He was found not guilty after he impregnated a 15-year-old girl,” the band covers…

Sri Chowdhury, “Affected Painting,” site specific installation: wood, linen, oil paint, concrete, glass, plants, light gels, shadows, ceramics, 2015. Five shows through June 19th Vox Populi 319 North 11th Street, Philadelphia What’s on view: Three solo shows, and a plant-centric group show curated by Caroline Picard. A giant T-shirt, an old phone connected to a voice message, posters celebrating…

Captain’s Log, stardate 47457.1. We are in holding position, as I am being forced to interrupt my afternoon tea time with an art contest for the Enterprise’s schoolchildren. Yes, it is the unfortunate annual Captain Picard Day, where the observation lounge will be decked out with a crayon and paint scrawled banner allowing the floodgates to open on bad kids art. On top of it, the work is all…

[Editor’s note: IMG MGMT is a series of essays produced by artists. This week’s author Aaron Williams is an interdisciplinary artist working in Queens. Through sculpture, photography and video, his work takes a critical look at common art-making practices and ideologies.        His work has been exhibited in New York at spaces including Max Protetch, Baumgartner Gallery and Mulherin Projects,…

[Editor’s note: IMG MGMT is a series of image-based essays by artists. This week’s author is Jibz Cameron, a performance/video artist and actor-ish lesbian robot clown living in Los Angeles. Her work as alter ego Dynasty Handbag has been presented at international dives both great and small.] Hello Fans and Fans I haven’t made yet, Collage is one of my many talents, though I don’t use it. All of…