Art Agenda

	Steve Paxton, Physical Things, 1966. Performance at "9 Evenings: Theatre and Engineering" The 69th Regiment Armory, New York, October 13-19, 1966. Still from performance footage shot by Alfons Schilling. Courtesy of The Daniel Langlois Foundation for Art, Science, and Technology, 9 Evenings: Theatre and Engineering fonds.
	New on Art Agenda: "Rearview" At what point in contemporary art history did critical writing become so uncritical? Considering the zeitgeist, it is befuddling that complacency plagues most published exhibition reviews. These are the times that call for critical reviews that take a bite out of crime: the crime of banality, the crime of self-satisfaction, the crime of fear—the fear of being ostracized for breaking unspoken rules of the art game. In 1966, Robert Smithson penned one such review, fearlessly critiquing the work of his peers Robert Rauschenberg and John Cage, among others. We have recently republished Smithson’s review of the show “9 evenings: Theatre and Engineering” and in the future we’ll be publishing more of those reviews worth re-viewing in a new section called “Rearview.” Initiated by Art Agenda Editor April Lamm, “Rearview” will feature monthly reviews from times past, which will be selected and introduced by Art Agenda’s writers. Recent reviews:  Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami December 1–4, 2011 Jonathan T. D. Neil takes a dig at the dissonance at Art Basel Miami Beach a few weeks after the eviction of “Occupy Wall Street” protestors in Zuccotti Park: “harmony is for hippy losers,” while Dave Harper steps outside the fair and finds himself poolside at the Raleigh, “between the poor attempting to look rich and the rich even more pitifully attempting to look poor.” read Jonathan T.D. Neil's reviewread Dave Harper's review Hong Hao's "AS IT IS" at Beijing Commune, Beijing November 26, 2011–February 26, 2012 Pauline J. Yao shows us the B-side of Hong Hao’s obsessive world at Beijing Commune, Beijing. read Luis Camnitzer’s “Reflejos y Reflexiones” at Parra & Romero, Madrid November 3, 2011–January 14, 2012 Lorena Muñoz-Alonso follows the rabbit down the hole of Luis Camnitzer’s “Reflejos y Reflexiones” at Parra & Romero, Madrid. read "Start. Reloaded" at Grieder Contemporary, Zurich October 28, 2011–January 21, 2012 Aoife Rosenmeyer unfolds the story behind Grieder Contemporary’s downtown Zurich reboot. read Eileen Quinlan's "Constant Comment" at Overduin and Kite, Los Angeles November 20, 2011–January 7, 2012 Kevin McGarry goes behind the semio[p]tics of Eileen Quinlan’s crazy quilts at Overduin and Kite in Los Angeles. read "The Mystery of Appearance” at Haunch of Venison, London December 7, 2011–February 18, 2012 Laura McLean-Ferris explores the mysteries of the London School at Haunch of Venison (and, no, the swinging 60s are not what they seem). read  “Des(enho)” at Galeria Casas Riegner, Bogota November 23, 2011–January 27, 2012 Mariangela Méndez examines the drawings that are anything but drawings in “Des(enho)” at Galeria Casas Riegner, Bogotá. read Laura Horelli’s “The Terrace” at Galerie Barbara Weiss, Berlin November 25, 2011–January 7, 2012 John Beeson unravels Laura Horelli’s tangled web at Galerie Barbara Weiss, Berlin. read Diane Arbus and August Sander at Edwynn Houk Gallery, Zurich November 17, 2011–January 14, 2012 Quinn Latimer gracefully shows us how not to doublethink the double billing of Diane Arbus & August Sander at Edwynn Houk Gallery, Zurich. read Wilfredo Prieto’s “The Emperor’s New Clothes” Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam November 25, 2011–January 21, 2012 Maaike Lauwaert queries the transparency of ideas behind Wilfredo Prieto’s “The Emperor’s New Clothes” at Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam. read Andrea Bowers’s “The New Woman’s Survival Guide” at Andrew Kreps, New York October 29, 2012–January 7, 2012 New-wave feminism? Alan Gilbert takes a look at Andrea Bowers’s interpolations at Andrew Kreps, New York. read