Mirror of Magic Waters LandScape

1,500-year-old Archway Partially Collapses in Iraq, Prompting Urgent Calls for Help

The director of the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage said the Taq Kasra is in “dangerous and critical” condition and needs immediate support to prevent further collapse.
Ishmael Reed Picks Hamilton Apart, Bit by Revisionist Bit

The Haunting of Lin-Manuel Miranda deconstructs the Broadway play’s abolitionist portrayal of the founding father with incisive, impeccably-researched satire.
Bringing the FBI’s War on Martin Luther King Jr. to Light

Filmmaker Sam Pollard talks to Hyperallergic about his documentary MLK/FBI, how history repeats, and how authorities treat left- and right-wing protests differently.
Andy Warhol’s Defiant Hopes for Queer Art

In an essay in "Andy Warhol: Love, Sex, and Desire," out from TASCHEN, Gopnik argues that Warhol had good reason to believe that daring gay imagery was where art ought to have been heading.
Trump Baby Blimp Has Entered the Museum of London Collection

The protest balloon, which depicts the outgoing US president as a disgruntled infant, has toured the world since it was unveiled in 2018.
Required Reading

This week, Lorna Simpson's Rihanna collages, a fascism historian gives us some perspective, unlocking Bitcoins, Lou Stovall, archived Parler videos from the DC insurrection, and more.
Poems in the Language of Death

Paul Celan’s truest homeland, paradoxically, was the German language — the language of the Nazis who imprisoned him in a forced labor camp and murdered his parents.
The Independent Spirit of Herbert Gentry

Gentry was one of a number of Black artists who had to navigate the art world’s demand to emphasize their racial identity in the “right” way.
Rudy Burckhardt’s Innocent Eye

Burckhardt was never surreptitious; he did not hide his camera, and his subjects often knew they were being photographed.
Trump’s Last Act

The most incandescent of invectives now feel like simple statements of fact.
Rachel Eulena Williams’s Threads of Abstraction

The strength of Williams’s new work lies in its transgression of aesthetic and, by extension, social and political lines, which are drawn more sharply in these fraught times.
How to Recognize Right-wing Dog Whistles and Symbols, From Viking Hats to Flags

The public is finally realizing what antifascists have warned for years: these symbols are rooted in American culture. Amid increased threats of violence, we need to get better at detecting them.
Are Trump Staffers Taking Home White House Artworks That Belong to the Public?

A stuffed bird, a framed photograph of Trump with the Chinese president, and a bust of Abraham Lincoln were some of the items that were seen carried out of the White House after the president’s second impeachment.
A Collection of Experimental Kinetic Art, Featuring Marcel Duchamp and Jenny Holzer

The Butler Institute of American Art received 98 works from the kinetic art collection of developer David Bermant, who acquired work that explored movement through the use of video, electronics, robotics, holography, magnetism, and light.
How We Can Hold Art Galleries Accountable

Let’s be real: galleries are feudal systems for hoarding wealth, property, and people that cannot be reformed with momentary or incremental adjustments.
Antibodies and Oppositions: Artwork That Addresses Our New Normal

At the Palais de Tokyo, mounting an exhibition loosely about infection, during a pandemic, presents its challenges.
Week in Review: Jewish Heritage Museum Vandalized With Confederate Flag; UK Rejects Antiquity Regulations

Also, an Ohio Arts Council leader resigned after incendiary comments on the 2020 election came to light, and more.
Guggenheim Names Naomi Beckwith as Deputy Director and Chief Curator

Beckwith will be the first Black woman to assume in the role at the New York City museum.
A Dolly Parton Statue Might Be Coming to Nashville, Tennessee

The beloved Tennessee-born musician recently made a $1 million donation to Vanderbilt University, which helped develop the Moderna coronavirus vaccine.
The California Studio at UC Davis Is Accepting Applications for Artists in Residence

Individuals have until February 19, 2021 to apply for 10-week, quarter-long teaching artist residencies in fall 2021 or spring 2022.