Some Worthwhile Links

Some of the best art writing can be found in London newspapers, especially by Adrian Seale and Jonathan Jones of the Guardian and Richard Dorment of the Telegraph. Here's a taste of some of their recent work:

Adrian Seale:
Frieze art fair 2010: the verdict: "What is it about contemporary art? Last year's good is this year's bad. There are lots of tacky mannequins dotted about the place this time, some more human than others, and the occasional dealer so badly dressed and so transfixed by the lack of action that you think he's a shop dummy."
Jonathan Jones:
Jonathan Jones on art: "Art is an ambiguous and evasive way of communicating. A vast field of porcelain sunflower seeds may indeed be a political metaphor. But just because the artist intends it that way does not mean it will be understood that way."
Richard Dorment:
Paul Cezanne: The Card Players: "In what other subject could several men be shown sitting around a table facing each other without talking, gesturing, or even looking up? In a card game, each player studies the hand he has been dealt so intently that his lack of movement and the absence of even the slightest expressive reaction to his opponents, looks quite natural. The subject of a card game was as close as Cézanne could find to a human still life. "

Other worthwhile links:

John Richardson, the foremost Picasso scholar, wrote a tough and informative article in the New York Review of Books entitled "How Political Was Picasso?". Basically not so much.

John Gapper in FT Magazine wrote a revealing piece on why Annie Leibovitz, as famous and great a photographer as she is, cannot find acceptance as an art photographer, and as a result her earning power is less than it would be.  

The Los Angeles Times has a funny article, "Art Magazine to artists: Drop Dead", about how London's Art Review doesn't have any artists in the top ten of their annual "Art Power 100."

Jersey City take note: via The Jersey City Independent comes this report --  San Francisco Is 2010 City R D Winner - Cities - GOOD: "'Feasible,' 'relevant,' 'inspiring,' 'focused,' 'achievable,' and 'shareable,' were all words our City R D judges used to describe the Walk Stop proposal aimed at making the Midtown area of San Francisco safer and more walkable."

Finally, The New York Times reports on the real estate ambitions of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Jersey City Museum take note: "'The arts center has to be the town square of New Jersey,” Mr. Goldman said. “Corporate events, weddings, bar mitzvahs, poetry festivals, other nonprofits doing their fund-raisers here, graduations, job fairs. It has to be more than what’s on your stages.'"