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Felix Salmon

Explain Me: The Stink of Met Admission Hikes Endures

by Paddy Johnson on February 21, 2018

Back in January, William Powhida and I recorded an episode of Explain Me on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s new admission policy. Earlier that month, the museum known for housing some of the world’s greatest treasures announced its admission price would no longer remain “pay-as-you-wish”. As of March 1st, their suggested admission, $25 will become mandatory for anyone living outside of New York State. Children under 12 get in for free.

Given that there’s less than two weeks until this policy change goes into affect, we thought it might be a good time to release our discussion and revisit the debate.

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Housing Costs Too Much: A Responsive Series of Awkward Dinner Conversations

by Chris Green on May 23, 2016

“How can you say that affordable housing should go towards artist studios rather than homeless domestic violence victims?”

The question, asked on Monday evening by the Village Voice’s Neil deMause during dinner at a luxurious Chelsea apartment, sent some hands reaching for wine glasses. It was a moment in William Powhida and Jennifer Dalton’s MONTH2MONTH, the public art project running in private residences around the city throughout May, that made the stakes of such a project’s engagement housing uncomfortably clear. The guests at the dinner, a varied mix of artists, patrons and the curious, were faced with a paradox of the liberal sensibility whereby supporting the arts might be tantamount to taking housing away from the truly needy. At least until Powhida announced that he, an artist, didn’t think artists should be given studio space over anyone.The problem is one of affordability. The discussion moved on, drinks were refilled.

In the age of poor doors and museum-sanctioned real estate summits, MONTH2MONTH, produced by MoreArt, asks what role the art community, which is so often viewed as an agent of gentrification, can play in the debate around NYC housing.

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Thursday Links: A History of Dicks + The Future of Head Transplants

by Paddy Johnson and Corinna Kirsch on February 26, 2015

Via: Freeze_de instagram. So good.

Paddy Johnson on the New Museum Triennial: It’s good! [Artnet]
Your new favorite Instagram, @freeze_de. For the ultimate art insider. [Instagram]
For the first time ever, a history of dick pics in relationship to criminal photography. NSFW, obvi. [Rhizome]
Say “hello” to Carla, a new contemporary art mag based online and offline. Carla is short for the full name of the publication, “Contemporary Art Review Los Angeles.” [Carla]
Cindy Sherman in a mask. [Instagram]
Islamic State is selling looted Syrian artifacts to London galleries. [The Washington Post]
In 2017, the sci-fi future will have arrived. That’s when human head transplants will be possible, says one Dr. Sergio Canavero. Likely the cost of a transplant will be around $13 million. [Quartz]
Which means that Mr. Burns will be able to afford one. [Simpsons Wiki]
A protest banner in an Oscar Murillo was removed by a museum security guard. The Centro Cultural Daoiz y Velarde in Madrid took seven years to build and cost 13 million. That pissed some people off, thus the signs. Murillo decided to integrate that into his work. [Artnet]
Felix Salmon takes a look at rising buying premiums at Sotheby’s. They’ve gone through the roof. [Fusion]
Patrick Schumacher, director of Zaha Hadid Architects, wants to get rid of public funding for art schools. “Public funding for art, including public funding for art schools is an indefensible anachronism,” he writes on Facebook. “Schools of art are not justifiable by argument, because contemporary art is not justifiable by argument.” Schumacher does not go into defining what a ‘justifiable by argument’ for an academic course would be, so we can’t take his statements too seriously. [Dezeen]
Brian Eno on digital music making tools and the question of whether every imperfect note should be retuned. [The Vinyl Factory]

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Thursday Links: Artist-Made Bot Buys Contraband on Dark Web

by Paddy Johnson and Whitney Kimball on November 13, 2014

An artist-made bot is buying ecstasy pills, and lots of other contrabands, off the Darknet and sending them to art shows. Artists !Mediengruppe Bitnik have designed “Random Darknet Shopper” in order to mine the Darknet and see what comes up. Hopefully the bot doesn’t hire a hitman. What a great story. [Fast Company]
Michael Connor makes a thoughtful comparison between the troll-heavy conversation around Ryder Ripps’s “ART WHORE” and Andrea Fraser’s one-woman reenactment of a 1991 City Council meeting: a reliving of a bitter argument between many different voices. “Right now, we are seeing a crisis resulting from the perceived erosion of the internet (and of technology in general) as a white male-dominated space”, Connor writes in reference to the trolls who actively work to drown out all other commenters. [Rhizome]
Christie’s Contemporary Auction last night brought in $852.9 million, trouncing Sotheby’s Contemporary sale earlier in the week, which grossed $343.6 million. Why did Christie’s sale do so well? Rich people are getting richer. There were two big Warhols in the sale, and that market is rigged. Also, according to Manhattan financier, David Ganek, “The quality of the sale was epic.” [The New York Times]
On the sale, Josh Baer writes,“It would be fascinating if we ever could (which we can’t) know the actual profitability of these mega sales? Certainly all the sales are real, with actual buyers, but are they a bit of haute couture and market share?” I didn’t know what that meant, so I asked Shane Ferro and Felix Salmon to explain over twitter. [Baer Faxt]

@artfcity @felixsalmon I think he means the auction houses put a lot of money into the evening sales and they aren’t necessarily profitable

— Shane (@shaneferro) November 13, 2014

@artfcity @felixsalmon Yeah. They often lose money on evening sales. — Shane (@shaneferro) November 13, 2014

@shaneferro @artfcity right, they’re loss-leaders, like the haute couture arms of perfume / handbag manufacturers

— Felix Salmon (@felixsalmon) November 13, 2014

@artfcity @shaneferro no, the perfume and handbags DO make money. It’s the expensive frocks which don’t. — Felix Salmon (@felixsalmon) November 13, 2014

In other words, the evening sales may not make much money, but the smaller deals and auctions do.

In honor of El Greco’s four hundredth deathiversary year, Kriston Capps writes a useful overview of the artist’s life, career, fade from common knowledge, and revival through artists like Cézanne, Picasso, and Matisse. The exhibition “El Greco” will be up at the National Gallery of Art until mid-February. [Washington City Paper]
Horses that “can’t even” in art. [The Hairpin]
It is also the philosopher Augustine of Hippo’s 1,660th birthday. [Twitter]
Probe on a comet! [Reuters]
It’s going to be cold this week, and all winter, probably. [Animal New York]
A.O.Scott makes us really want to see “Red Army”, a documentary about Soviet hockey, its greatness, and its dissipation. The early nineties Olympic team was “almost universally regarded as the greatest hockey team ever assembled.” [The New York Times]
Speaking of former greatness, thanks to Marina Galperina for sending us this link to former fans of the “nonconformist” hard rock band Alisa, twenty years later, in their normal jobs. [Golbii]

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Thursday Links: Many, Many Paradoxes and a Hamster

by Corinna Kirsch on November 6, 2014

Rejoice, for artful economist Felix Salmon now has his byline in the New Yorker. Glad to have more of his insights on the art market’s many, many paradoxes. [The New Yorker]
Hamster makes wee dishes, serves wee sake. Wee enjoy. [Rocket News 24]
GULF Labor unfurls a(nother) banner inside the Guggenheim to protest the museum’s labor practices. [@occupymuseums]
How did we miss this? Yesterday marked the first-ever Britney Spears Day, a holiday created by the city of Las Vegas. [Aplus]
Years late to the news, the New York Times declares Ridgewood an up-and-coming neighborhood for hipsters. [The New York Times]
Creative Time will be livestreaming this year’s summit at select locations. FOR FREE. The Vera List Center for Art and Politics will host the NY screening. [Creative Time]
If you’re wrapping up your reading on Prospect.3 this week, don’t forget to check out Julia Halperin’s breakdown of the biennial’s demographics. [The Art Newspaper]
Viewers complain that last week’s Doctor Who episode was too scary. [Telegraph]
Germany’s Wiesbaden Museum wants to purchase a Nazi-looted paintings—rather than returning the work to its owners. As a money-raising strategy, the museum has begun hanging the painting so that it faces the wall. For Wiesbaden, that turnaround stunt might generate publicity; we’re not convinced that greater awareness will necessarily bring in more dough. [Tablet]

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Tuesday Links: Moving On

by Corinna Kirsch and Whitney Kimball on April 22, 2014

Felix Salmon is leaving Reuters “to do exciting things on the Internet.” That is all. [New York Times]
Just weeks after rumors began to swirl that Pearl Paint would be closing, it then closes. Several employees had worked at the red-and-white building for over 20 years. We don’t know what’ll happen next, but the building is up for sale. [Tribeca Trib]
This happened before you were born: 50 years ago today, the 1964 World’s Fair opened in New York. [City Room]
This May, Adrian Piper will create a corporate-themed artwork where participants’ contributions will end up being sealed for 100 years. Hm? [Elizabeth Dee]
Here’s another reason we could use more data about artists and their pay: The Foundation for Art and Creative Technology in Liverpool has laid off staff and replaced them with volunteers who need exposure opportunities. By now it seems like this is standard practice in the art world, but humiliating nonetheless. [The Art Newspaper]
Not totally unrelated, an upcoming Court of Appeals ruling could force stores, like Walmart, to disclose how much they get from food stamps. [Mother Jones]
Sounds like there was some borough-to-borough infighting to make this happen, but Macy’s July 4th fireworks display will be moved back to Brooklyn. Since 2008, they’ve been held in Manhattan. [DUMBO NYC]
Jonathan Jones takes a break from talking about why contemporary art sucks in order to talk about why performance art sucks. “Woman who pops eggs out of her vagina” is his performance art example. [The Guardian]
The Affordable Art Fair is launching a new chapter in Toronto, but under the name “Love Art.” Based on every art fair we’ve been to, “affordable” doesn’t seem like it would be much of a draw. [New York Times]

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Wednesday Links: Urinating in Someone’s Mouth Not Considered Helpful

by Paddy Johnson on March 26, 2014

Always good to get a little context. Patricia Morrisroe, Robert Mapplethorpe’s biographer, on the reception of his work while he was alive: “At a time before gay marriage, when most gay men were still in the closet, pictures of leather men in chains hanging upside down, or urinating in someone’s mouth, wasn’t considered helpful in furthering gay rights.” [Dazed]
LOL. “post-Internet artists have moved beyond making work dependent on the novelty of the Web” [Artspace]
24 year-old Lucien Smith was scouted by Jeanne Greenberg-Rohatyn at his Cooper Union thesis show. Now his work is selling at auction for 6 digits and there’s speculation that David Zwirner will pick him up. Smith is now dating Zwirner’s daughter Marlene (though we hear that relationship is no longer). WTF? [Artnet]
Christian Viveros-Faune on William Powhida’s “Overcultured” at Postmasters. “As most artists and the majority of critics scratch their heads, Powhida has effectively conceptualized several novel ideas and forms to better illustrate our confounded present. In that spirit, Powhida makes art out of the normally utilitarian press release, where he defines “overculture” as “a small cultural group (artists) within the larger culture, often affirming the beliefs or interests of the ruling class (collectors),” and also as “a negative or ambivalent feeling about culture often in relation to socio-economic conditions.” [The Village Voice]
Felix Salmon thinks Mark Zuckerberg is the Warren Buffet of technology. [Felix Salmon]
OMG. Tonight, a burlesque tribute to Star Trek at The Slipper Room. [The Slipper Room via City Room]
For those who can’t attend, but want to pay tribute at home, we sourced these Star Trek Insignia Pasties. [Etsy]
Give me some Jeff Koons Banality Service Plate please! My favorite is the Michael Jackson and Bubbles plate, but a whole set is available. [MoMA Design Store]

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Monday Links: The Last Day We Talk About Miami, Promise

by Corinna Kirsch on December 9, 2013

Happy Holidays from your ambassador to Finland, The Hulk. [Imgur]
The Miami art fairs have come and gone. The verdict: Unbelievably rich people bought up an unbelievable amount of art. But why now? One answer: The global population of the super rich has grown, and art is seen as a “safe asset” for investment. [The Art Newspaper]
Or is it? Felix Salmon takes on the problems of art market reporting. First up: The “art market is like the stock market” fallacy. [Reuters]
But maybe you’re the type who wants to think there’s at least a correlation between the two markets. Okay, so imagine the sales boom is all because of scaredy cat investors, or “an attempt by people with money to diversify after having been burned in the stock market during the Great Recession.” [CNN]
I’m not sure how many rich people it took to create robust sales at the fairs, but maybe we can figure out a number by looking at how many took private jets in and out of Miami. There were at least 200. [Omaha]
Thanks to the High Line, New York has a new roach problem. Roaches found living in the park’s non-native plants have “special powers.” Likely, they cannot read your mind, destroy all lands of the target player, or leap over skyscrapers, but they can withstand freezing temperatures. Watch out for these crawlies in your fridge. [The Guardian]
Pizzabook will make Facebook look like a pizza. There is no better reason to make your screen into pizza than this: As of this moment, Facebook looks like somebody drew a website on a sheet of paper, then added some blue marker so that it wouldn’t look like a series of too-flat rows and columns. I prefer Pizzabook’s (this is the 1.6 update) green peppers, black olives, and pepperoni on my screen. And its smoke effects, spinning images, and peace sign cursors. [Pizzabook]
Dear Kanye: Please, stop making ridiculous statements about how awesome and arty you are. But don’t worry, I will still stick up for you when necessary, like to make sure that people know you didn’t say you’re the next Nelson Mandela. That, kids, is a lie that needs to stop being passed around. Thanks, Corinna. [News One]

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Tuesday Links: “It’s Drug-Level Money, But You Don’t Have To Kill Anyone”

by Paddy Johnson and Gabriela Vainsencher on October 1, 2013

Kurt Hentschlager's installation Zee (image credit: kurthentschlager.com)

Hyperallergic gets a nice clip from the Times in an article about Amazon Art. “Ms. Nielsen, a Brooklyn artist, moved quite a bit of merchandise. After the Web site Hyperallergic included one of her prints in an article titled “Ten of the Cheapest Artworks on Amazon Art,” she sold eight prints the next week.” The rest of the article sums up a program most readers will already familiar with, since it’s three months old. [The New York Times]
“It’s drug-level money, but you don’t have to kill anyone,” says Tamer Hassan, on digital ad fraud. Hassan is a co-founder and chief technology officer of White Ops, a private digital ad fraud policing company. [The Wall Street Journal]
Sara Cochran resigned from her position as curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Phoenix Museum of Art. [Phoenix New Times]
Mark Kermode reflects on criticism and decides that even though you can get sued and endure physical and professional threats, it’s a dream job. Agreed. [The Guardian]
Jeffrey Shankman, an ardent art supporter in Houston, has indicted by feds for bankruptcy fraud. He was hiding art. [Glass Tire]
The Second Avenue subway line won’t have sidewalk ventilation grates when it opens in 2016. [The New York Times]
John Menick writes about contemporary computer viruses as zombies. [Mousse Magazine]
In Pittsburgh, Kurt Hentschlager’s installation Zee is shutting down after three viewers had to be treated for “seizure-like symptoms”. The installation, which warns people with anxiety, epilepsy, and claustrophobia from entering, includes lots of strobes and a fog machine. [The Huffington Post]
Felix Salmon’s reflections on an excerpt of Dave Egger’s new dystopian fantasy about social media, “The Circle”, make us very wary of the new book. [The New York Times Magazine]
Occupy Wall Street will release a new debit card. [The New York Times]

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