Arts and Lifestyle

May 6, 2017

Alex Jones slams ‘grossly inaccurate’ reporting on custody battle

Following his 2015 divorce, far-right radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is embroiled in an ugly and somewhat bizarre custody battle.

In response to his ex-wife’s claims that the InfoWars founder and Pizzagate controversy propagator is “not a stable person” ― and therefore should not receive custody of their children ― Jones is arguing that his publicly jacked-up, trumped-up, vitriolic rants are merely instances of “performance art.”

Jones’ lawyer Randall Wilhite outlined the novel defense, telling those present at a recent pretrial hearing that Jones’ InfoWars persona does not reflect who he is as a person. “He’s playing a character,” Wilhite said. “He is a performance artist.”

Jones himself made a similar claim in early April while facing criticism ― and potential criminal proceedings ― after calling Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) an “archetypal cocksucker” and threatening in an expletive-laden rant to “beat [his] goddamn ass.” Jones later posted a follow-up video describing the comments as “clearly tongue-in-cheek and basically art performance, as I do in my rants, which I admit I do, as a form of art.”

Jones’ most famed “performances” to date include calling the 9/11 attacks an inside job, claiming the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School was “completely fake with actors,” and suggesting that the American government is “encouraging homosexuality with chemicals so that people don’t have children.” Is it possible that Jones has been putting on some sort of persona to stir up controversy and garner public attention? Of course. It is unlikely, however, and ultimately dangerous, that Jones’ approximately 2 million listeners ― including his most famed fan, President Donald Trump ― were all aware that Jones’ red-faced tirades are for show.

In calling himself a performance artist, Jones is referencing a controversial live art tradition with roots in the 1950s and ‘60s, involving movements like Gutai and Fluxus and individuals like Marina Abramović and Vito Acconci. One of the earliest artists recognized for her performances is Carolee Schneemann, who was recently awarded the Venice Biennale’s Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. In one of her most iconic performances, 1975’s “Interior Scroll,” Schneemann stood nude on a table, painted her body with mud, and extracted a scroll from her vagina, from which she proceeded to read.

When asked about Jones’ performance art defense, Schneemann responded swiftly: “I think it’s all a load of crap,” she told The Huffington Post. But ultimately, any attempts to strictly classify what is or is not performance art, she clarified, are futile.

May 6, 2017

The First House Antoni Gaudí Ever Designed Is Now An Incredible Museum

Antoni Gaudí is known to many as the genius behind Sagrada Família, the monumental church in Barcelona, Spain, that has been called “the most extraordinary personal interpretation of Gothic architecture since the Middle Ages.”

Originally commissioned in 1882, Gaudí became the lead architect of Sagrada Família in 1883, working on the astonishingly detailed project right up until his death in 1926. The massive structure was famously only a quarter of its way to completion at that point, nonetheless, tourists have continuously flocked to the monumental feat of art, marveling at the ways various architects have attempted to finish Gaudí’s vision over the years.

Sadly, those waiting to see Sagrada Família in all its finite glory will have to wait until at least 2026, the projected date for its highly anticipated completion, which not-so-coincidentally will mark the 100th anniversary of Gaudí’s death. In the meantime, though, fans of the Spanish Catalan architect can soon visit another one of his distinctive designs ― Casa Vicens, the first house he ever built.

What was once a private home in Barcelona, built for the broker Manel Vicens from 1883 to 1885, will be transformed into a museum dedicated to Gaudí this fall. In the 1920s, the tiled house temporarily served as three separate apartments ― arranged by architect Joan Baptista Serra de Martínez with Gaudí’s approval ― but for the last century has functioned as a private home to one family. The Andorran bank MoraBanc bought the property in 2014, and renovations have been underway since 2015, overseen by Martínez Lapeña-Torres Arquitectes S.L.P. and architects José Antonio Martínez Lapeña, Elías Torres and David García.

Casa Vicens, which has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage site, along with seven other Gaudí buildings, since 2005, will reopen to the public in just a few months. While no set date has been announced, organizers have recently released a batch of images that allow people around the world to tour the yet-to-open, but ever so ornately decorated destination. Enjoy:

May 6, 2017

Native American Art Gets Its Rightful Place In The Metropolitan Museum Of Art

The American Wing of the storied Metropolitan Museum of Art has long held a collection of typically “American” artifacts: portraits of wigged colonial leaders, Tiffany chandeliers, Frank Lloyd Wright chairs, silver owned by Paul Revere Jr., quilts by unknown 19th-century makers.

Together they tell a specific, but noticeably incomplete, history of the United States.

Beginning in the fall of 2018, however, the American Wing will attempt to course correct by including a subgroup of art that has been regrettably missing from the section: Native American art. Thanks to a donation from collectors Charles and Valerie Diker, a batch of 91 works of Native American art will be headed for the American Wing, marking a historic change in the way art is curated at New York’s most famous museum.

In the past, Native American art has been housed in The Met’s Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas galleries, a section that spans 3,000 years, three continents and several islands. According to The New York Times, this was a bit confusing to international patrons who were accustomed to seeing indigenous art displayed as part of their own national narratives.

“They go through [the American Wing] and expect to see Native American work here,” Met curator Sylvia Yount explained. “Because often where they come from, indigenous art is part of the narrative of a nation’s art, in a way that it’s not in the United States. We’re really behind the curve.”

The Met characterizes its move to incorporate work from the Dikers ― including bowls, dresses, drawings and bags created by Washoe, Wasco, Arapaho and Anishinaabe artists ― into the American Wing as a “curatorial decision to display art from the first Americans within its appropriate geographic context.”

“This transformative gift marks a turning point in the narratives presented within the American Wing,” Rebora Barratt, deputy director for The Met’s collections and administration, wrote in a press release shared with The Huffington Post. “With the addition of these works, The Met will be able to offer a much richer history of the art of North America, one that will include critical perspectives on our past and represent diverse and enduring native artistic traditions.”

May 6, 2017

Happy 50th Anniversary To ‘The Outsiders,’ The Book That Created A Genre

At 15 years old, S.E. Hinton wrote what many consider to be the first YA book.
While other teens spent their time navigating the frustrating social hierarchies of high school, S.E. Hinton deigned to write about them. The result ― the classic, best-selling novel The Outsiders ― was published in 1967, 50 years ago today.

The coming-of-age book, which is often studied by young readers in school, follows Ponyboy Curtis and his friends, who are jumped after leaving a movie theatre. Ponyboy’s a member of the Greasers, and the kids who jump him are Socs; he thinks it’s impossible for members of the different gangs to get along, until he spends time with one of the Socs’ girlfriends, Cherry Valance.

This breach has consequences, though. Ponyboy and his friend Johnny find themselves in increasingly dire scenarios, culminating in a church fire.

Hinton was only 15 when she started writing the book, which was later turned into a film, and 18 when it was published. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she said, “There was nothing realistic being written for teens at that time. It was all, like, Mary Jane Goes to the Prom. And I’d been to a few proms, and that was not what was happening. I really wanted to read a book that dealt realistically with teenage life as I was seeing it.”

So, instead of penning what was essentially an instruction manual for how teens ought to behave, Hinton took a critical look at how kids did behave, where she lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Outsiders examines class, and the role it can play not only in how students interact, but in their ability to put their best foot forward in school.

By the end of the book, it’s revealed that Ponyboy’s story is being told for an English paper. He’s at risk of failing the class, but his teacher has allowed him a shot at passing if he’s able to pick a compelling topic. So he chooses his own experiences.

May 6, 2017

34 Poets Of Color Summarize 2017 In Verse

This was the question Tabia Yapp ― the founder of BEOTIS, a boutique agency that represents leading writers, speakers and multidisciplinary artists of color ― posed to a group of contemporary poets she admired.

The open-ended question provided respondents with ample space to play. Some poets answered the prompt in two words, while others filled up pages, all while attempting to describe a time categorized by so much fear, anger, hope, action and love.

We’re only two months into 2017. At times, it feels like the year has already stretched beyond its 12-month boundaries. Yet at the same time, 2017 still doesn’t feel quite real. Just as Black History Month comes to a close, the following poets are helping us make sense of this uncertain moment in history, using language as a guide.

Behold, 34 poets of color summarize 2017 in verse*: