weekend links: LSD, gentrification, Katie Smither
Dismaland. Image courtesy Christopher Jobson and Colossal.
I’m a few weeks late with this one, but I can’t resist sharing it. Ken Kesey’s 1965 party for the Hell’s Angels had everything: children tripping on LSD, microphones hidden in bathrooms, a mostly sober Hunter S. Thompson. It sounds horrifying. [American Short Fiction]
Speaking of hallucinogen-addled children, Joan Didion met a five-year-old on LSD in the Haight during her research for “Slouching Towards Bethlehem.” That’s just one small detail in this piece on Didion’s life and journalism, but I felt compelled to mention it. [New Yorker]
Banksy’s latest project sounds amazing. Dismaland Bemusement Park, which will be open to the public for five weeks, is filled with “bizarre and macabre” artwork from more than 50 artists worldwide. It’s the nightmare theme park of my dreams! [Colossal]
Indianapolis arts collective Big Car is trying to solve the problem of gentrification. That’s a good goal! [The Guardian]
Asa Hursh, the outgoing executive director of Art Alliance Austin, and artist/writer Seth Orion Schwaiger provide a case study in curation—Lora Reynold’s Gallery’s exhibition of Troy Brauntuch, Andy Coolquitt, and Jeff Williams. [Austin Chronicle]
Artist Katie Smither has stolen my heart in this interview, where she discusses Marfa, Galileo, and the Trans-Pecos Pipeline. [Conflict of Interest]
—Alyssa G. Ramirez