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Weekend Reading: July 12 Edition

Melissa Starker, Creative Content & PR Manager

Jul 12, 2024

A dark wall in a gallery holds a row of three framed photographs over a lit wooden floor bearing topographical lines.

Jonas N.T. Becker in The Brooklyn Rail, Calling Hours in Columbus Underground, a new discussion series at Two Dollar Radio, a Venice appointment for Willem Dafoe, a teaser for a Cannes favorite with Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, two too many beheaded statues of women, and more stories for arts lovers.

Top of page: Jonas N.T. Becker: A Hole is not a Void, installation view at the Wexner Center for the Arts, 2024.

Around Ohio

An outdoor performance with a group of people gathering on a stage with an image of a charcoal drawing projected large behind them.

Calling Hours, courtesy of Tom Dugdale

In an interview with principles Tom Dugdale and Anne Cornell, Columbus Underground took a deep dive into Calling Hours, coming to Mershon Wednesday.
Matter covered new releases from Ghost Shirt and the combo of rappers TrigNO and Soop.
The Dispatch offered an FAQ on the upcoming Ohio State Fair.
Columbus Monthly has the skinny on a documentary about Clintonville’s “Mystery House.”
Arts educator and local legend Jackie Calderone announced plans to retire.
Oscar-winning filmmaker and Wex friend Steven Bognar was praised for helping secure a $100,000 grant for Yellow Springs’s Little Art Theatre.
The Washington Post interviewed Thomas Dambo, the Danish sculptor whose troll sculptures can be found in forested areas across the US, including in the Dayton area.
The Goodale Park Music series begins Sunday with a set from Paisha Thomas.
Wednesday, try some art without context at the opening of Disruption at 1221 Art Space.
Thursday, Hanif Abdurraqib and Heer to Serve Founder Emily Myers will join Matter’s Andy Downing at Two Dollar Radio for a discussion around caring for the unhoused.
Also Thursday, Seventh Son is hosting a fundraiser for production of the short film The Witness.
Friday, Arris Cohen debuts work on the walls of Ohio State’s Faculty Club.
Next Saturday, comic artists Grace Ellis and Rafael Rosado will lead a discussion about making comics for families in an event sponsored by Cartoon Crossroads Columbus.
934 Gallery will bid adieu to its outdoor murals Saturday in preparation for the next 934 Fest. At the same time, it’ll open a group show of works by Akeylah Imani Wellington, Sara Jean Ruiz, Lyra Purugganan, Felicity Gunn and Amber McElreath.
And the acoustic duo Starlit Ways returns to Streetlight Guild Saturday night.
Lastly, some of the history of the Short North Arts District was lost this week with the passing of Short North Tavern owner John Allen and the death of comedian Sean Somerville, a fixture at the late, lamented Surly Girl Saloon.

Around the Globe

A grainy color image of a woman’s hand holding a drinking glass up in front of her view of a sandy beach and the ocean.

Still from footage shot by artist Barbara Hammer during a 1998 artist residency in Provincetown, MA, later used in Lynne Sachs’s Wexner Center-supported 2019 short film A Month of Single Frames (For Barbara Hammer), courtesy of the filmmakers

Writer Robert Alan Grand paid a visit to the Wex to check out Jonas N.T. Becker: A Hole is not a Void for The Brooklyn Rail, and liked what he saw.
It’a been a big month so far for statues of women being beheaded, with Shahzia Sikander’s sculpture Witness at the University of Houston being vandalized and a sculpture of the Virgin Mary by artist Esther Strauss getting chopped at Austria’s largest cathedral.
French arts organizations are breathing a sigh of relief after voters successfully blocked Marine Le Pen’s far right party from taking the majority. Nonetheless, the country’s arts policy is still in limbo.
Meanwhile, the arts scene in Tampa is dealing with the results of politically-motivated funding cuts by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Two performing arts festivals in the state that were attacked by the governor have offered to sacrifice their funding if it will move the needle.
Hyperallergic looked at how the economy is presenting challenges for maintaining historic artist enclaves in locations like Provincetown, Massachusetts and Taos, New Mexico.
Chicago’s century-old American Academy of Art is shuttering.
But at least things are looking up for the moment at Provincetown’s Fine Arts Work Center.
2023 Turner Prize winner Jesse Darling isn’t so sure he wants to be an artist anymore.
Kyla McMillan became the next director of New York’s Armory Show.
Hey, remember the immersive art craze?
A new exhibition at the Israeli Holocaust Museum centers artists who found inspiration from Disney during the rise of Hitler.
The manslaughter trial against Alec Baldwin for the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film Rust was dismissed.
So much for Redbox.
MUBI dropped a teaser for the buzz-inducing new body horror pic The Substance, with Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley.
According to a survey by Sundance’s Art House Convergence, audiences want more independent cinemas.
Hollywood may be in a slump, but southeast Asian cinema is booming.
Vulture grilled actress Anna Faris about her work on Gregg Araki’s cult favorite Smiley Face.
Willem Dafoe has been appointed artistic director for the Venice Biennale’s theater department.
The Biennale’s International Festival of Contemporary Dance kicks off this week, and Director Wayne McGregor discussed his fascinating lineup ahead of it.
Women in Afghanistan living under the Taliban are finding freedom to learn, watch, and exercise online—at least for now.
A guest column in The New York Times considered how pop culture reflects a widespread feeling of being stuck.
One of the daughters of recently deceased writer Alice Munro revealed a family history of sexual abuse. Slate believes one of Munro’s short stories might help explain the author’s acceptance of her husband’s acts.
Fresh Air dug into the archives for interviews with recent losses Martin Mull and screenwriter Robert Towne.
Dorothy Lichtenstein, widow of Roy Lichtenstein and president of the foundation formed in his name, passed at the age of 84.
Thomas Hoepker, the German photographer known for his iconic shots of Muhammad Ali, died at the age of 88.
The great actress Shelley Duvall passed at 75. Watch 3 Women or indulge in some Faerie Tale Theatre in tribute.

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