Post image for Porn In Church: 30 Years of Charles Atlas

Marginalized culture loves to watch the mainstream played out on its own terms — to make itself visible within the imagery that bombards us. It was fitting, then, that last night’s screening of seven videos by upcoming Whitney Biennial artist and longtime documenter of queer culture, Charles Atlas, took place on a small screen in the empty nave of the Judson Memorial Church.

Post image for Your Weekend Itinerary: A Guide to the 2012 Outsider Art Fair

The Outsider Art Fair, one of the most high-profile annual exhibitions of folk and self-taught artists, will be celebrating its twentieth anniversary this weekend. The fair has long been a hotbed for presenting interesting outsider art from around the world and trends within the field, and from the looks of the schedule, this year’s fair – which opens this Friday, January 27, and runs through Sunday the 29th – will be no exception.

Post image for Is “The City Dark” Self-Parody?

There’s nothing immediately offensive about the premise of Ian Cheney’s new documentary, The City Dark. Living in New York, I can believe that Cheney, an amateur astronomer since his teenage years in Maine, might miss seeing the stars at night, and feel deprived. When he attempts to stretch that wistfulness into an authoritative documentary, however, the results are less than convincing.

Post image for Ai Weiwei is Being Watched

As it debuts at Sundance this weekend, Alison Klayman’s “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry” is being pre-emptively treated by critics as a highlight of the festival. We take a sneak peek at the documentary, which shadowed Ai for years leading up to his detention.

Post image for MoMA Security Confiscates Occupy Museums Banner: OM Poses Acquisition Terms [UPDATE]

During last week’s Occupy Museums protest at MoMA, a red and black banner was suspended by the crowd on the fifth floor landing into the museum’s atrium. Security quickly confiscated it, and has yet to return the piece. As Occupy Museums states, institutions nationwide are negotiating with OWS art groups to acquire archival materials, so in an open letter to MoMA, OM has declared terms for the artwork’s acquisition.