weekend links: Amalia Ulman, Questlove, feminist art
Artist Amalia Ulman.
Image courtesy of Instagram.
Amalia Ulman may have created the world’s “first Instagram masterpiece.” For five months in 2014, the Argentinian-born artist documented her life in L.A. via vacuous selfies and brunch pics—to the degree that her colleagues warned her she might be wrecking her career. And now those selfies—part of a performance art piece called Excellences and Perfections—are going to be shown at the Tate Modern! Wrecking her career, indeed. (Bonus: maybe your Trump-supporting Facebook friends are just performance artists, too?) [Telegraph]
Speaking of Trump supporters: Sarah Palin as poet. Sarah Palin as heir to Walt Whitman. Sarah Palin’s “I Sing the Body Apoplectic.” No, this isn’t a grad student’s fever dream; these are the sincere musings of Jeet Heer and Palin scholars. [New Republic]
Amber Coffman of Dirty Projectors sparked a revolution this week: On Monday, she accused music publicist Heathcliff Berru of sexual assault; the next day—after a cascade of allegations from other women—Berru resigned as CEO of Life or Death PR. Inspired by Coffman’s courage, women in the industry have been sharing their stories of routine sexual harassment. [Jezebel]
On a lighter note, you have to watch this delightful animated video about the time Prince fired Questlove from a DJ gig. It has everything: blossoming romance, Prince in a golf cart, and an impromptu screening of Finding Nemo. You will regret nothing. [Complex]
Austin’s annual theater festival FronteraFest has cancelled its Long Fringe portion (scheduled for January 18–31) for the first time in its 23-year history. And the reason behind the cancellation is a doozy: Ground Floor Theatre, the Long Fringe host, was shuttered earlier this month after a surprise city inspection revealed that the site hadn’t been issued a certificate of occupancy. Fortunately, most performances have been rescheduled. [Austin Chronicle]
Black Sheep Feminism, an exhibit featuring 20th-century pro-sex feminist artists, is currently on display at the Dallas Contemporary. Curator Alison Gingeras posits that Betty Tompkins, Joan Semmel, Cosey Fannie Tutti, and Anita Steckel have long been ignored for political reasons. [Arts and Culture TX]
Austin film series Alt Girl Cinema will host its third monthly screening tonight, a collection of experimental shorts by women of color. [Austin Chronicle]
–Alyssa G. Ramirez