weekend links: Iranian skyscrapers, RIP MAD, Internet linguistics
Nick Dahlen, Heel. Image courtesy It’s Nice That.
Last week, we reported on the growing number of artists protesting the Whitney due to board member Warren Kanders’s involvement with tear gas manufacturer Safariland. This week, we’re glad to announce that Kanders has resigned. A reminder of the power of sustained protest. [Gothamist]
After getting caught making graffiti, Nick Dahlen was given a copy of Juxtapoz magazine by his father. In it, he saw graffiti artists taking to painting as an alternative medium. Now, he is turning the art world on its head, "remixing" the classics. [It's Nice That]
Due to architectural limitations, buildings in Iran have always sprawled horizontally, rarely vertically. Nevertheless, Iran has some of the most beautifully intricate architecture known to man and has several UNESCO world heritage sites. Artist Mohammad Hassan Forouzanfar takes up the question What If Iran had skyscrapers in Iranian style? in his collection Retrofuturism. [Hyperallergic]
It wasn't always easy to find lowbrow humor. Over 50 years ago, MAD magazine began publishing what would become many people's first taste of “trash” culture. With MAD recently announcing its closure, Jordan Orlando takes a look at its past and future influence. [The New Yorker]
Hey, there's an art residency in the Swiss Alps with gorgeous views of the mountains and crystal clear lakes—just in case you needed another dream goal. [Artsy]
Zora Neale Hurston helped revolutionize cultural anthropology by pioneering terms like cultural relativity to describe the various norms of different cultures. Now, in Gods of the Upper Air, Charles King looks back at Hurston and others during this redefining period of anthropology, feminism, and identity. [The Atlantic]
Tbh, I’ve never questioned the web-based linguistics I use on a daily basis. Gretchen McCulloch did question our evolving language, however, and wrote Because Internet on this phenomenon. Because, you know. [The New York Times]
—Nicolas Perez