Fwd: Artforum.com newsletter - November 17, 2009

ARTGUIDE DIARY PICKS NEWS IN PRINT FILM 500 WORDS VIDEO PREVIEWS A&E BOOKFORUM SUBSCRIBE

November 17, 2009

FROM THE EDITORS If last week's postwar and contemporary auctions proved anything, it's that Warhol is still the art market's touchstone. The upbeat financial news was one of many stories in recent weeks, and as usual Artforum.com's contributors were surveying the scene, taking stock of the art world's most compelling events, whether "meta" awards shows or public practice pecha kuchas, fall benefits or performative feasts. In print, the November issue features Thomas Crow on the passing of the art historian Charles Harrison, Amy Taubin on Richard Kelly's The Box, and Michelle Kuo on the art of Urs Fischer. Once you've caught up on the magazine's latest, make sure to check out Artforum.com's most recent news and reviews, our "500 Words" interviews with artists, and updates from the world of cinema in our film column. Visit Artforum.com daily, or subscribe to our feed for instant updates.

SCENE & HERD Artist Kembra Pfahler with Delusional Downtown Diva Lena Dunham. (Photo: Roger Kisby) Sarah Thornton at the New York auctions [11.13.09] "Before the sale, art-market insiders had been discussing little besides Warhol's 200 One Dollar Bills. 'It's Pop, Minimal, and Conceptual. Everything is there right from the beginning,' said Georg Frei of Thomas Ammann Gallery. Warhol wasn't just fascinated by fame––he was obsessed with ubiquity. And what is more pervasive than the American dollar?" – Sarah Thornton Rhonda Lieberman on Rob Pruitt's Art Awards [11.03.09] "Upstaging the 'pros,' my favorite presenter couple was Kembra Pfahler (of the Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black) and her 'date,' Jeffrey Deitch. Pfahler was the perfect foil for the entire room. It was hilarious to watch the postapocalyptic apparition table-hopping like a weird nude Muppet." – Rhonda Lieberman Claire Bishop at a Creative Time summit on public practice [10.29.09] "At countless points in the day, my eyes glazed over to the sound of earnest monologues announcing, 'My practice is about creating platforms for a critical interface with overlooked spaces, networking with local communities to provide self-organized resources and coproducing social relations . . .' Aaagh!" – Claire Bishop

IN THE NEWS • DIA ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR NEW SPACE IN CHELSEA • SOTHEBY'S EVENING SALE TOTALS $134.4 MILLION; CHRISTIE'S $74.1 MILLION • CLAUDE LÉVI-STRAUS (1908–2009) • ELI BROAD EXPANDS PLANS FOR WESTSIDE MUSEUM • PENELOPE CURTIS APPOINTED DIRECTOR OF TATE BRITAIN • SANAA PARTNER NAMED DIRECTOR OF VENICE ARCHITECTURE BIENNALE

CRITICS' PICKS JOSEPHINE PRYDE Fourteen large photographs capture often awkward and close-up views of a towheaded toddler adrift in a studio setup. Given the frequently sentimental and cloying associations of child portraiture, the unflattering character of these shots is something of a relief. … READ ON MARCEL BROODTHAERS Ne dites pas is among the most compact of the installations and retrospective exhibitions that occupied Broodthaers in his final years—called the Décors. These presented artworks as aspects of scenography, poetically undermining modernist autonomy. … READ ON ARTUR ZMIJEWSKI "Where is the world?!" wails a group of Palestinian women in Jerusalem during a weekly protest against Israeli occupiers in Artur Zmijewski's singularly brilliant new video Democracies, 2009, one of two documentaries by the artist that compose this exhibition. … READ ON

Other recent picks: Travis Somerville, Dieter Balzer, Shinro Ohtake, Saâdane Afif, Martin Flemming, John Latham, Robert Morris, Christian Holstad, "A Blow to the Everyday," Ariel Orozco, Gianni Colombo, Arnold J. Kemp, David X. Levine, Siah Armajani, Eddo Stern … READ ON

500 WORDS LUC SANTE Luc Sante is a writer and critic. The author of Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York (1991), Kill All Your Darlings: Pieces 1990–2005 (2007), and several other books, he is also visiting professor of writing and photography at Bard College. His latest effort, Folk Photography: The American Real-Photo Postcard, 1905–1930, is out now from Yeti Books. … READ ON Other recent 500 Words: Lynda Benglis, Project Projects, Nikhil Chopra, Tacita Dean, Dennis Oppenheim, Julia Bryan-Wilson … FILM DENNIS LIM ON THE VIENNALE While most festivals rush to trumpet the abundance of premieres in their lineups, the Viennale, a two-week cinephile's delight, prides itself on a discerning mix of old and new. The sheer range of its retrospective programming tells you all you need to know about this ambitious, eclectic festival. … READ ON Other recent film reviews: Amy Taubin on Marie Menken, Melissa Anderson on Harry Dodge and Stanya Kahn, Ara H. Merjian on Futurist film, Cameron Shaw on David Lynch's Interview Project, Catherine Taft on The Golem, Melissa Anderson on This Is It …

ARTGUIDE Plan your next trip with artguide / eat sleep and put together a list of exhibitions open while you're traveling.

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Top image: Urs Fischer, Zero Year Curse, Tavernier Blue, Hope Diamond, The Heart of the Ocean, May Yohe & Putnam Strong (detail), 2006, one of four color photographs, each 31 1/8 x 24 3/8". Copyright Artforum International Magazine, 350 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001. All rights reserved. If you wish to unsubscribe your e-mail narendraraghunath@gmail.com from this newsletter, please click here. Send email to a friend.

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