weekend links: Junot Díaz, decolonizing the Brooklyn Museum, the art of Minimalism

Kitty Kraus, Untitled (2012)

In a harrowing and powerful essay, author Junot Díaz revealed this week that he was a childhood victim of rape. In the era of #MeToo, we have seen far fewer male victims than women, but Díaz's story demonstrates that the psychological aftermath is just as devastating. “'Real' Dominican men, after all, aren’t raped," he writes. "And if I wasn’t a 'real' Dominican man I wasn’t anything. The rape excluded me from manhood, from love, from everything." Díaz's story is heartbreaking, but we hope it will encourage other male victims to seek the help they need. [The New Yorker]

The Brooklyn Museum is facing growing dissent from anti-gentrification activists following its appointment of Kristen Windmuller-Luna, a white woman, to be curator of African art. The organizers call for a "Decolonization Commission" to address the museum's colonial artifacts, a lack of diversity in its leadership, and other issues. Thus far, the museum has ignored the calls, but the chorus only continues to grow, with 19 organizations now demanding change. [Hyperallergic]

There are no shortage of Minimalism fans here in Texas—after all, Donald Judd turned Marfa into the destination it is today. But deep down, casual fans may wonder what the fuss is all about. It's just boxes and squares, isn't it? This essay attempts to answer the age-old, rarely-asked question, What makes a minimalist sculpture good? May itprovide you with some handy rhetoric to deploy when confronted by your Philistine friends. [Artsy]

Poet and Priestdaddy author Patricia Lockwood shares her motivation for writing in a new essay that attempts to answer the question on every author's minds these days: How the fuck do we write now? Her solutions are poignant and worth reading (and re-reading) in our terminal state of despair. [Tin House]

The Museum of Human Achievement is a mainstay in Austin's arts scene, known for its large, interactive group exhibitions. Unfortunately, with growing success comes inevitable corporate exploitation. The Museum claims that Collide Agency and candy bar conglomerate Mars Wrigley stole its ideas for an exhibit they were contracted to construct for SXSW; after Collide refused to produce a contract, MOHA ordered the agency to discard the plans they'd shared. Instead, Collide used them to produce its own version of the exhibit. We hope the pending lawsuit is quick and rewarding. [Glasstire]

—Sean Redmond