Excerpts from The Believer: Resurrector: Black Square “Gallery-goers might have been outraged not only because of the work’s simplicity—it is a 79.5-centimeter-square canvas bordered thickly in gray and white, filled in with black paint—but because it was not even a square.” – – – A rotating guest column in which writers reexamine critically unacclaimed works of art – – – In 1915, long before the r…

Excerpts from The Believer: Finding Win Ng In the 1960s, a Chinese American ceramicist built one of the first widely known lifestyle brands. Why, despite the iconic status of his work, is so little known about the artist himself? – – – Ten years ago in Nevada City, California, I encountered two coffee mugs in the front seat of an old Mercedes station wagon belonging to Joe Meade, an arti…

Excerpts from The Believer: The Joy of Persona ON THE MEDIUM OF ARTISTIC PRESENCE – – – THE ACCEPTANCE OF PERSONA Every artist expresses persona. For performers, the public face is inside the art. The work of Charlie Chaplin, Billie Holiday, Ana Mendieta, or Jimi Hendrix cannot be separated from the undeniable power of persona. For artists who send their work into the world, persona may …

Excerpts from The Believer: An Interview with Martine Syms “I like thinking about the cut in film as a kiss. It brings things together.” – – – I met Martine Syms at a microscopic art gallery in Los Angeles’s Chinatown in 2012. We’d both been invited to give presentations to an audience so small we were essentially performing for each other, and although I can’t remember what either of our talks was abou…

Excerpts from The Believer: Ask Carrie A quarterly column from Carrie Brownstein, who is better at dispensing advice than taking it. Q: What is an appropriate amount of time to stay at your friend’s art show if you’re not interested in the social aspect of that kind of thing? I’m all about showing up to support people, but I find the conversations at these events so tedious and perfo…

Excerpts from The Believer: Inside Out With stable employment exceedingly difficult to come by, intellectually disabled adults have another, occasionally lucrative, way of participating in American society: they can become artists. – – – On a Monday morning in early June, Nicole Storm arrived at the Creative Growth Art Center in downtown Oakland, California. Light poured in through b…

Lee Greenwood, true believer in God and Trump, to sing ‘God Bless the USA’ at inauguration (RNS) — The country star will sing his 1984 hit song at Donald Trump’s inauguration—while he continues to sell a controversial Bible inspired by that song. The post Lee Greenwood, true believer in God and Trump, to sing ‘God Bless the USA’ at inauguration appeared first on RNS.

Excerpts from The Believer: An Interview with Annie Leibovitz “When I started working for Rolling Stone, I really thought I was doing journalism. And then I quickly realized I wasn’t, because I had a point of view.” – – – In many ways, I am an unlikely choice of interviewer for a subject like Annie Leibovitz. While I am trained as a photographer and still utilize photography across my work, for the most p…

Excerpts from The Believer: Ancient to the Future How director Mani Ratnam managed to adapt Ponniyin Selvan, a 2,500-page serialized historical epic and one of the bestselling Tamil novels of all time. – – – Dear Believers, come gather ’round the flames of the hearth as I spin the adventurous tale of Kalki Krishnamurthy—shamelessly adopting his intimately omniscient tone in order to illuminate …

Excerpts from The Believer: An Interview with Musician Jack Stratton “Concerts should be fun. I don’t like it when they feel like religion.” – – – I had been wondering something about Jack Stratton, the founder and leader of the band Vulfpeck, for the past twenty-one years. I remember him occasionally rapping in his sleep back in 2003, when I was Jack’s camp counselor on the shores of Lower Baker Pond in Wentwort…

Excerpts from The Believer: Resurrector: Signs A rotating guest column in which writers reexamine critically unacclaimed works of art – – – We didn’t often go to the movies as a whole family, but in 2002 we all saw Signs. This was back when we could be convinced to hit the theater en masse simply because a guy named Manoj—better known as “M. Night”—was making it big in Hollywood. This was a …

I am officially a Color Analysis true believer. For the last six months, Ive been living in the Rabbit Hole that is Color Analysis. I don’t know how or why the subject captivated me, but my new hyper fixation was locked and loaded. I assumed I was a Summer of some kind, and I knew I was definitely cool-toned, but I wasn’t one hundred percent positive. And as a Type A Neurotic, I needed confir…

Excerpts from The Believer: An Interview with Filmmaker and Musician Boots Riley “I am trying to repel audiences and pull them in at the same time, so they gain a different kind of awareness of what they’re watching.” – – – Boots Riley’s art was inspired by his early experiences connecting with people as a labor organizer and party promoter. He doesn’t like the idea of being an authority or a superstar. He just wants to sho…

In Mike Huckabee, Israel will have a longtime friend and true believer as ambassador (RNS)—The former Arkansas governor and pastor-turned-Fox News host has been a supporter of Israel since his first visit in the 1970s. He sees the growth of Israel as a sign that biblical prophecies are true. The post In Mike Huckabee, Israel will have a longtime friend and true believer as ambassador appeared first on RNS.

Excerpts from The Believer: Take the W: Collier – – – Our friends at The Believer are now publishing web exclusives. To celebrate, we’re sharing excerpts of their inaugural weekly column, in which Katie Heindl (author of the beloved Basketball Feelings) writes about the WNBA for both longtime fans and the casual observer. If you want to follow along and bypass the paywall, pick up a Believer…

Excerpts from The Believer: Take the W: Bodies – – – Our friends at The Believer are now publishing web exclusives. To celebrate, we’re sharing excerpts of their inaugural weekly column, in which Katie Heindl (author of the beloved Basketball Feelings) writes about the WNBA for both longtime fans and the casual observer. If you want to follow along and bypass the paywall, pick up a Believer…

Excerpts from The Believer: Take the W: Business Moves – – – Our friends at The Believer are now publishing web exclusives. To celebrate, we’re sharing excerpts of their inaugural weekly column, in which Katie Heindl (author of the beloved Basketball Feelings) writes about the WNBA for both longtime fans and the casual observer. If you want to follow along and bypass the paywall, pick up a Believer…

Excerpts from The Believer:: Take the W: Parker – – – Our friends at The Believer are now publishing web exclusives. To celebrate, we’re sharing excerpts of their inaugural weekly column, in which Katie Heindl (author of the beloved Basketball Feelings) writes about the WNBA for both longtime fans and the casual observer. If you want to follow along and bypass the paywall, pick up a Believer…

Excerpts from The Believer:: Take the W: Interpretations – – – Our friends at The Believer are now publishing web exclusives. To celebrate, we’re sharing excerpts of their inaugural weekly column, in which Katie Heindl (author of the beloved Basketball Feelings) writes about the WNBA for both longtime fans and the casual observer. If you want to follow along and bypass the paywall, pick up a Believer…

Excerpts from The Believer:: Take the W: Interpretations – – – Our friends at The Believer are now publishing web exclusives. To celebrate, we’re sharing excerpts of their inaugural weekly column, in which Katie Heindl (author of the beloved Basketball Feelings) writes about the WNBA for both longtime fans and the casual observer. If you want to follow along and bypass the paywall, pick up a Believer…