Good things come in threes. Read More | Comment »

Or should I say "line-o-rama"? Or should I drop this weak comparison to DVD extras completely? But really, reading the new collection of New Yorker cover outtakes and retakes certainly has something in common with watching the special features on your favorite Judd Apatow movie, though it does raise the bar in that New Yorker kind of way. Read More | Comment »

It's no secret that there's little help out there for anyone sick in the creative industries. But newly-minted local charity Artists Against Cancer is hoping to take the financial sting out of chemo and rehab, with a hog-guzzling, art-auctioning event this weekend in Watson. Read More | Comment »

Yes, citizen, that's Staple!. Read More | Comment »

Prepare, Austin! It's time for Adventure Time, Cartoon Network's brilliant, bizarre and wondrous series, with a new exhibition at Mondo Gallery and a special feast and showing at the Alamo Drafthouse later this month. Read More | Comment »

There's a hidden gem there,
up in the North Loop neighborhood. Read More | Comment »

Yesterday, we (Kate Messer, editor and Andy Campbell, author) posted about an artist who donated/submitted three pieces of art to the Octopus Club's 2010 ArtErotica art show. Read More | Comment »

Yes, this: Read More | Comment »

Among the various women
featured in the paintings Read More | Comment »

Back in the day, when the landlord was comin' round and you didn't have the scratch to pay him, you'd pull together the cash by throwing a rent party. A little music, a little dancing, and a little liquid refreshment, and your friends would chip in a little something for the honor of attending. Now, that tradition is being revived to help Mitchie's cover rent. Read More | Comment »

At 20 feet tall, this Willie Wells towers over the one-story South Austin house next door, the house in which he grew up in the first decades of the 20th century; the house that he left in 1923 to play ball in the Negro Leagues and become one of the game's greatest players, black or white; the house to which he returned in 1973 and in which he died in 1989. Read More | Comment »

Sure: Greater knowledge about a subject
can enhance your experience of that subject. Read More | Comment »

Yes, this sort of thing makes us think of that one episode of The Simpsons, too. But then there's damned little in this life that can't make a person think of some Simpsons episode, am I right? As if the show itself were a part of some conspiracy of apophenia, and we were little more than unwilling pawns in the relentless power of –

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The Harry Ransom Center is perhaps best known for its insanely impressive literary holdings (Gutenberg Bible, anyone?), but it also has an ever-growing trove of movie-related treasures, too. Hot on the heels of its acquisition of Detour actress Ann Savage's collection comes news that the HRC's Robert De Niro archive is now open to researchers and the public. Read More | Comment »

Artistic duo Samuel Boutruche and Benjamin Moreau, who go under the alias Kolkoz, have created a group of new works composed entirely of concentric frames. The gilded edge is the content. A craft project for Brandeis after they've sold off all their art? Hmmm? Read More | 1 Comment »

Today I received a missive from Brandeis President Jehuda Reinharz. (Tyler Green from the blog Modern Art Notes got the same letter.) In it, Reinharz goes on to outline that while he may not sell off all of the Rose Art Museum's art, he still plans to close the museum itself and sell some of the art. By dissolving the museum as an institution, Brandeis is no longer beholden to industry standards for deaccessioning and selling art. In other words, it's a sneaky way around the rules. And as far as I'm concerned, Reinharz's actions are still shameful and perhaps even more ethically suspect now than ever before. In the email, the president states that "…Brandeis is not lessening its commitment to the creative and visual arts." So, selling off Brandeis' art collection is doing what, exactly? I want to echo a sentiment felt across the artworld, though its not usually put in such a colloquial way: F*ck you. Too much? Hardly. Read More | Comment »

File this under Reason #465 to be depressed about the state of the economy. I know I'm sensitive about this stuff being an art historian, but the recent decision to close the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University in Boston is too much for me. When academic institutions believe the artworks they own are in fact nothing short of liquid assets to get them out of a financial crisis, they lose credibility in this queer's eyes. If Prospect 1 taught me anything (and Kate and I both promise to post our thoughts on it over the next few days – keep checking back, it is that art can be a boon in economic sadtimes, if you just put a little oomph into it. This on top of large cuts in faculty and enrollment may spell D-O-O-M for the largest Jewish academic institution in the U.S. I keep thinking: There but for the grace of God go I. Sheesh. Read More | Comment »