weekend links: ugly art, Thanksgiving, Colson Whitehead
One of Maciek Jasik's smoking gourds. Image courtesy The Creators Project.
In commemoration of the Paris attacks last year and the French-American alliance, Jeff Koons is constructing Bouquet of Tulips—a massive metal sculpture of a handful of flowers—for the French capital. France, you gave us a green lady, here’s a bouquet of ugly. [The Guardian]
Another ugly art piece is in the news this week. After being boxed away for more than 20 years, a giant stained-glass mural designed for the East German Stasi headquarters has been recovered and is on sale in Miami for a nice socialist price of $21.4 million. [The New York Times]
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we give you Maciek Jasik’s portraits of smoking gourds. His photo series is a colorful critic on contemporary food trends and an ode to Native American agricultural practices—topics to contemplate over leftover canned pumpkin pie. [The Creators Project]
Also honoring the diverse American food landscape, New York artists have created a multimedia cookbook project that reminds us of the ignorance of a single American story. [Hyperallergic]
Colson Whitehead, winner of the National Book Award, teaches us about the beauty of writing a female protagonist, rebelling against a system and finally writing the book that scares you shitless. [Lit Hub]
Congratulations to the Texas artists that will be represented in next year's Whitney Biennale! [Glasstire]
In his new book Life and Death, writer Tim Lawrence explores the 1980s New York club and dance scene that culminated from creative collectivism during the reign of Reagan. This week, as Donald Trump showed us his fear of cultural spaces, we may find ourselves dancing more. [Thump]
While we remember Sharon Jones, keep on grooving to that unbelievable voice and enjoy two of Terry Gross's early interviews with her. [NPR]
And in non-arts-related news, the Dakota Access Pipeline protests are still going on. Protesters are being blasted with water cannons in sub-freezing temperatures, causing real threat to life. There is a near-total media blackout going on. Instead of going out and spending money on Black Friday, we encourage you to donate to help support those fighting to keep the pipeline out of sacred grounds and away from the Standing Rock Sioux’s water supply. If you don’t have the money, at least make a few phone calls to keep the pressure on the local authorities to stop this atrocity. Here are some ways you can help. [Paper]
—Katie Lauren Bruton