Articles

Kyra Kordoski revisits the pantheon-building art theory of Clement Greenberg and its connection to modernity through the prism of the matsutake mushroom.

Sam Wallman is an award-winning Melbourne comics artist who utilizes journalism and the expanded canvas of the web to detail the lives of his subjects while delivering a penetrating social message. Drawing on his co-pursuits as a trade unionist and political activist, Wallman explores topics ranging from the history of trade unionism, meth use among gay, bi, and queer men, to the arbitrariness of human detention. Tim Bollinger interviewed Wallman and wrote an overview of his work for White Fungus.

Kalisolaite ‘Uhila is a Tongan performance artist based in New Zealand. In his 2011 work "Pigs in the Yard", 'Uhila challenged western notions and treatment of the pig. In traditional Tongan culture, the pig is sacred. 'Uhila's performance afforded pigs this reverence while challenging audiences to reappraise their relationship to these sentient creatures.

Fast-advancing AI technologies are throwing our notions of authorship and creativity again into flux. In creating their seventh album, Blossoms, the electronic music duo Emptyset created a machine-learning system to interpret their back catalog and recordings of improvisations. The musicians sought to identify results beyond mimicry and which constituted unique sonic expressions in and of themselves. What emerged was a bizarre, alien logic. Tobias Fischer interviewed the duo about the process.

Sumitomo Fumihiko writes about the video works of Okinawan artist Chikako Yamashiro. Sumitomo writes that the artist deals with local political issues and a history of sexual violence by enveloping them into poetic meditations on nature and the instability of human desire.

Paul Celan is often called the greatest of postwar European poets. Barry Schwabsky looks back on Celan's life and work following the 100th anniversary of the poet's birth, and the 50th of his death.