Art historian Robert Storr has bequeathed the majority of his massive personal archive to the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College. The gift, described by CCS Bard executive director Tom Eccles

Christian Dior Exhibition in Tokyo Comes Alive With Incredible Architectural Backdrops

Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams at Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo
Photography by Daici Ano, Image Courtesy of Dior

Clothing by the fashion house Christian Dior speaks for itself. So when creating a space for an extensive retrospective, the setting must be as exquisite as the garmentswithout overpowering the designs on view. Architect Shohei Shigematsu, a partner at Dutch studio OMA, has done that with the interior design for the Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo.

The incredible exhibition features clothing, purses, periodicals, and more, all among alluring sets. One of the standouts is a pyramidal staircase that features 35 pieces of Dior haute-couture. The mannequins are set on platforms within the staircase, which itself illuminates with animations.

Each exhibition space references elements that are shared between Japanese tradition and culture as well as Diors history and its contemporary clothing collections. The pyramidal staircase, for instance, is inspired by long, processional stairs leading to traditional Japanese shrines. But overall, the elements are wide-ranging and refer to themes in the fashion house's work, construction techniques, and more.

Shigematsu, it turns out, was just the right person to design the interior. The fashion exhibition is a domain that requires architecture to become a narrative medium. We wanted to expand and diversify potentials for storytelling through a retrospective that not only looks back at history but brings new life and relevance to todays culture. As a Japanese architect tr...

All images Rosso Emerald Crimson, shared with permission

Against backdrops of streaky paint strokes, scratches, and remnants of patterned wallpaper, Rosso Emerald Crimson (previously) depicts women at ease, their figures emerging from a haze of gauzy gowns and masses of hair. The London-based artist is interested in womens psychology as she visualizes aspects of the feminine that vacillate from the confident and assured to the demure. Dressed in full garments that mask much of their bodies, the subjects facial expressions and comportments are the central focus. Crimson elaborates:

The field of emotions that I represent fluctuates from the plein naf to the melancholic to the bold and fierce, and these are purely based on my very personal state of being while I create. That is why, paradoxically, the more colourful and outspoken the paintings appear, the more introspective they are. I do feel like subconsciously I am funnelling all my experience as a woman, with my failures, and success, my irrationality and wisdom, my fears and dreams.

Crimsons painting Waiting for my Valentine is on view at MEAM in Barcelona through June 25, and she was recently chosen to participate in Artdom, a program matching artists from two different countries, which will open its next exhibition on April 22 in Oslo. For more from the artist, visit her site and...

To his own surprise, Matt Mullicans new body of work is vibrantly colorful. A departure and liberation of sorts, it is also his most labor-intensive work yet. Made in his Berlin studio, August 9,

Showcasing almost fifty paintings and drawings created over forty-three yearsrendered in ink, watercolor, and gouachethis retrospective of Philip Van Avers art presents works that act as subtle yet

Wildlife Photographers Unite in New Book To Highlight Beauty of Endangered Animals

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase, My Modern Met may earn an affiliate commission. Please read our disclosure for more info.

A decade ago, British photographer Graeme Green was on assignment in Africa when he stumbled upon an idea to promote the conservation of wildlife. Big 5 was a phrase once used by big-game hunters to describe the African wildlife that was the most difficult to track and kill. Green wanted to transform the meaning, and instead of shooting these animals with guns, they'd be shot with cameras in an effort to educate the public.

Over the course of many years, Green spoke with fellow wildlife photographers about his concept and, in 2020, the project was launched. The Big 5 would no longer be associated with the end of life, but with a celebration of the animals that are most at risk on our planet. A public vote was held to decide what The New Big 5 would be, with the elephant, polar bear, lion, gorilla, and tiger coming out on top.

The original project saw leading photographers like Ami Vitale, Cristina Mittermeier, Thomas Vijayan, and many more lending their images to highlight the threats that endangered species are currently facing. Now, Green is releasing a book, The New Big 5, in order to continue his mission of helping the animals that need it the most.

Have you ever wondered what your Uber drivers REALLY think of you?

Well, if that question has been on your mind, then today is your lucky day!

A woman named Emma shared a video on TikTok where she instructed viewers how they can use the Uber app to see the ratings drivers have given them.

Check out what she had to say

And take some notes!

@emmatainment I wish I never found this setting #uber #uberratings original sound Emmatainment

And you better believe that TikTok viewers had some feelings about this.

One person said,

Im sad cause I have 4 three stars What did I do wrong? I just sit in there quietly.

And another viewer added,

I have 16?? I literally dont be doing anything.

One TikTokker commented,

I have 2 (1) star reviews all I do is sit there?

But some folks knew why their ratings were low

One said,

I have one 1 star rating and I know...

All images Nikichi

From the long, graceful turn of a rabbits ears to the cozy embrace of polar bears, Nikichi summons the emotional nuances of intimacy, solitude, and contemplation in his delicately carved sculptures. Carefully exposed wood grain shapes knees and cheeks, paws clasp together in repose, and winged visitors perch on delicately-hewn noses.

The Hokkaido-based artist has been sculpting animals for around a decade, interested in the ways that people relate to fluffy, recognizable creatures like bunnies and cats by anthropomorphizing their expressions and actions as a means of understanding and connecting to them. He fuses human and animal characteristics to explore what he describes as the story of human sociality and life by overlapping the wildness and instinctiveness of animals, populating a harmonious, mythical world.

Find more of Nikichis work on Instagram.

...

Enable subtitles, says the notification that appears before The Poor Man of Nippur and you will need them, unless, of course, you happen to hail from the cradle of civilization. The short film is adapted from a folktale based on a 2,700-year-old poem about a pauper, says the University of Cambridges alumni news, acted out word-for-word by Assyriology students and other members of the Mesopotamian community at the University. The result qualifies as the worlds very first film in Babylonian, a language that has been silent for 2,000 years.

Found on a clay tablet at the archaeological site of Sultantepe, in south-east Turkey, the story of The Poor Man of Nippur hasnt come down to us in perfectly complete form. The film represents the points of breakage in the tablet with VHS-style glitches, a neat parallel of forms of media degradation across the millennia.

5 Online Art Classes To Help You Celebrate the Beauty of Spring

When the doldrums of winter finally shake away, were treated to the beauty of spring. From the blooming flowers to warmer weather that brings us back outdoors, theres a lot to celebrate. One of our favorite ways to do it is through arts and crafts. You can convey the brilliance of nature, for instance, through acrylic paintings or by pressing flowers. Better yet, you'll learn it all when you enroll in the online classes at My Modern Met Academy. Our e-learning platform has courses that get you into the creative spirit of spring.

This season is when the most beautiful flowers bloom, and its natural to want to savor the loveliness year-round. In that case, learn how to press flowers when you take Beyond Bouquets: Turning Pressed Flowers Into One-of-a-Kind Art with Anna Zakirova. She shows you how to press a variety of blooms, from daisies to roses. Afterward, Zakirova will demonstrate how she uses the flattened flowers as the basis for her original artwork.

If spring means long walks outdoors, youve likely noticed the beauty of dappled light, which is the glittering illumination you see through the trees. Dappled Light: Learn Abstract Painting with Acrylics with Megan Elizabeth will take that beautiful sight as inspiration for abstract paintings. After getting acquainted with acrylics and an introduction to color mixing, Megan will show you how to create the dappled light effect on your canvas.

Scroll down for more classes to try on My Modern Met Academy. Know someone who would like a class as a gift? Weve got gift certificates just for thatitll be sure to put a spring in their step!

Put some spring in your step when you enroll in these online art classes, only available through My Modern Met Academy.

...

When you picture modern day Tokyo, what comes to mind?

The electronic billboards of Shibuya and Shinjuku?

The teeming streets?

The maid cafes?

The robot hotel?

A 97 square foot micro apartment?

Uh ohits another one of those stories from Reddits Am I the A**hole? page where someone gets really worked up about a food allergyor someone elses food allergy

But lets get all the details before we make up our minds, okay?

Read on to see what happened!

AITA for suggesting my stepdaughter is overreacting over her milk?

My wife and I (both 40) have a kid each from previous relationships, mine is Connor (18M) and hers is Sasha (16F), my son has a girlfriend, Hannah(17F) and both her and Sasha are lactose intolerant.

Sasha spends half the month with us, so we always have normal and lactose-free milk, Ill admit, Sashas milk is quite expensive because she only likes certain kind that she can also drinks alone and not with just coffees or smoothies.

Now the issue is, Hannah spends almost 3 to 4 days here and my wife and I dont mind at all, but Sasha has complaint several times that Hannah drinks her milk as fuel during those days and barely leaves anything for her (we go to the supermarket every 2 weeks, Sasha can go to any nearby store and get more, tho, not the one she likes) and has asked us to either buy gallon for her only and one for Hannah or tell her to go buy her own milk.

My wife decided to just buy Sasha a small fridge to keep in her room so she can store her milk and other things there which I find very disrespectful, I mean its just milk, we can always buy more.

This has caused Hannah to ask if she can borrow a bit of milk every time she wants to drink a coffee with us, and Sasha says yes, most times, but when she decides Hannah has had enough milk, she says shes almost running out (which is a lie).

A few days ago, before Sasha was about to come back from h...

Its an indisputable fact: cover letters are no fun, they take forever, and writing them can drive a person insane.

And there are shortcuts out there that people can use if they choosebut theres always the potential of getting caught

And a woman named Mandy came across a cover letter for a job she posted that looked promisinguntil she realized the person who submitted it used ChatGPT.

Check out what Mandy had to say about this.

@careercoachmandy he really said copy paste #chatgpt #coverletter #jobsearch original sound Career Coach Mandy

People on TikTok had thoughts to share

One person said,

Hire them because they are resourceful and dont waste their f**king time on stupid s**t like a cover letter.

Another added,

As long as they are speaking the truth on the things they ha...

British sculptor Sarah Lucas has been named the first winner of the New Museums newly established Hostetler/Wrigley Sculpture Award. The $400,000 prize is named for Sue Hostetler, a trustee of the New

SAN FRANCISCO The email announcement for Kimetha Vanderveen at Peter Mendenhall Gallery (February 11April 1, 2023) reminded me of the afternoon I spent in her sunlit studio in San Franciscos Hunters Point Shipyard at the end of October 2022. Until then I had seen her work only digitally, not in person. After an email introduction from a mutual friend, we met in a coffee shop in early February 2022 in New Yorks Koreatown. Even though I had no idea when, or even if, I would travel again at that point, I told Kimetha that I would visit her studio the next time I was in San Francisco. Something about the works modest scale and evocation of light through materiality piqued my curiosity. This is how, six months later, I ended up in her studio.

As Vanderveen began to show me her works, many of them nuanced monochromatic oil paintings on panels that were less than eight by eight inches, I returned to a question asked by Joe Brainard and Thomas Nozkowski: how big does a work of art have to be? Though certainly many abstract artists working monochromatically have made larger pieces, I did not feel that Vanderveens works needed...

SANTA FE Liberty without responsibility is not real liberty, reads a quote from revered Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh. Alongside is a quote from artist Simone Leigh from the Venice Biennale: To be sovereign is to not be subject to anothers authority, anothers desires, or anothers gaze but rather to be the author of ones own history. These appear on the homepage for the Santa Fe Art Institutes 2024 International Thematic Residency, the theme of which is Sovereignty. Applications for the residency are due April 9. 

Jamie Blosser, executive director at SFAI, tells Hyperallergic that the process of choosing a theme is complex. We do a whole research project each fall and talk with our alumni and residents, she says....

Skill, kunst (art), and practical knowledge. These essential components formed the core of making objects and knowing about their material and utilitarian properties in 16th-century European workshops. In these spaces of bustling and collective creativity, artisans manually captured the likeness of living organisms using metals to make life molds and casts (processes that utilize a living model to make a form out of a respective medium, like metal, wax, or ceramic) of lizards, worms, frogs, and plants. Here I wonder, who was served by this vernacular knowledge and has it somehow been preserved through writing?

Building from her research and years of hands-on experiences, science historian Pamela H. Smiths latest title From Lived Experience to the Written Word: Reconstructing Practical Knowledge in the Early Moder...

Pinning down the many influences layered in Vincent van Goghs The Starry Night (1889) has been the task of many art historians over the years. Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusais The Great Wave (18301832) and American poet Walt Whitmans works, such as From Noon to Starry Night or Song of Myself, have been cited as possible references. Now, one scholar is proposing that the celebrations for the inauguration of the Eiffel Tower in Paris could have inspired the painting.

In an upcoming April issue of the London-based fine arts publication The Burlington Magazine, art historian James Hall compares the construction of Starry Night to a print of the Eiffel Towers opening night that included a light show. Hall told Hyperallergic that van Gogh sought to...

Alexia Fabre will curate the Seventeenth Biennale de Lyon, to take place September 2024January 2025. A Chief Curator of Heritage, Fabre from 2005 to 2022 led the MAC VAL, the contemporary art museum

This Sunday, April 2, the people of Greece get to live out my lifelong dream and bring their dogs to the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Athens for a World Stray Animal Day event. To rub salt in my wounds, the museum said that visitors would be welcomed by a puddle of puppies from the Socrates Shelter that are currently looking for forever families.

The museum partnered with the shelter, opened and funded by Athenss Municipal Department of Urban Fauna since 2021, to encourage the adoption of stray dogs in need and shed light on the dangerous conditions stray animals face d...

Photo of Pope Francis Wearing a Stylish Puffer Jacket Is Actually an AI-Generated Image

Photo: AI-generated image of Pope Francis created with Midjourney

If youve been online over the past several days, you mightve seen a photo of Pope Francis sporting a stylish white puffer jacket. Its hard to ignore; the image of the 86-year-old sitting pontiff went viral. The whole vibe of the photo made him look hip and like he was walking off the fashion runway. But theres one big caveat with this image. Its not real. Its an AI-generated photo made using the art tool Midjourney.

The image is incredibly convincing and had many people fooled. One of the biggest clues that the photo is fakeand its subtleis the way in which the faux Pope is holding the cup in his right hand. AI is notoriously bad at rendering human hands, and this photo is no exception. But that small detail went unnoticed by many who didnt realize it was fake until they learned otherwise.

AI-generated art has given anyone the opportunity to create their own images. If they can communicate it through text prompts, it can be produced. This photo is no different. The person who generated it is named Pablo Xavier. Hes a 31-year-old construction worker from the Chicago area. I try to do funny stuff or trippy artpsychedelic stuff, he explained of the image. It just dawned on me: I should do the Pope. Then it was just coming like water: The Pope in Balenciaga puffy coat, Moncler, walking the streets of Rome, Paris, stuff like that.

Pablo generated the image on Friday, March 24, and then posted it to a Facebook group called AI Art Universe and later to Reddit. By Saturday, it was gaining momentum online; he was shocked at how quickly the image went viral. I was just blown away, he expressed. I didnt want it to blow up like that. To him, it was definitely scary that people believed the image to be real without questioning its veracity.

...

Last week, three Florida parents...

Jeremy Renner Shares Video Update of Him Walking Again After Snowplow Accident

Photo: Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Actor Jeremy Renner, who suffered a harrowing snowplow accident a few months ago, is fortunately on the road to recovery. The star, best known for his role as Hawkeye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was trying to help a family member free his vehicle from the snow on New Year's Day when disaster struck. The event left him critically injuredhe broke 30 bones and suffered blunt chest trauma, having to undergo two surgeries for his wounds. Now, showcasing some warrior energy his character is known for, he has shared a very positive health update.

Just a few days short of the three-month mark since the incident, Renner took to Twitter to post a video of himself walking on an anti-gravity treadmill. He captioned the video, I now have to find OTHER things to occupy my time so my body can recover from my will. On Instagram he wrote, I now have to find OTHER things to occupy my time so my body can recover from my will.

This is a massive improvement since the selfie he posted from a hospital bed just two days after the accident. Back then, he thanked fans and fellow celebrities for their kind words. A few weeks later, he shared a picture yet again lying on what looks like a hospital bed, but undergoing some kind of physical therapy. According to The Guardian, a report from the Nevada sheriff's office stated that Renner tried to protect his nephew after the snow slid...

BRICs spring Gallery exhibition, When I Am Empty Please Dispose of Me Properly, showcases seven artists whose work delves into the intertwined nature of desire and sadness. Through their pieces, Ayanna Dozier, Ilana Harris-Babou, Meena Hasan, Lucia Hierro, Catherine Opie, Chuck Ramirez, and Pacifico Silano explore the myths of the American Dream that shape and govern our personal narratives.

The artworks on display at BRIC House, Brooklyn, serve as a commentary on the cultural and societal expectations that have shaped our desires and aspirations. Drawing on Pop art and advertising aesthetics, When I Am Empty examines consumption through both its allure and contradiction, playing with ideas of mimicry, duplication, and violence. The works in the exhibition reveal that while the desire manufactured by advertising is pervasive and false, there is a desire and need for untangling and reimagining Americas obsession with the dream of upward mobility and economic freed...

How does the connection between our bodies and memories change as we age? Artist Casey Curran (previously) attends to this question in a new series of kinetic sculptures. Titled Carrion Blooms, the works reference degeneration and decay and how the bodys stamina wanes. We can all recall those days when our energy seemed endless, twenty-four-hour benders where we somehow managed to cram everything in; work, school, hobbies, friends, and family. The time felt limitless with possibilities, Curran says.

Hand-cranks animate laser-cut insects and flowers made of mylar, which flutter, blossom, and retreat to their static positions. Emphasizing inevitable transformation and the fleeting nature of life, the artist likens the gilded skeletal structures to scaffolding, a prized foundation to place the future onCarrion Blooms is about how we change over time, how we use our days differently with age, and what it means to let go of the past, he says. What will be left when we are gone, and who will remember the arrangement we made?

Carrion Blooms is on view from April 1 to May 6 at Heron Arts in San Francisco, and you can find more from Curran on his site and Instagram.

...

On sympathy, reciprocity, and satisfying the fulness of our nature.

All relationships are asymmetrical. But there are some asymmetries that fray the fabric of the relationship and maim both people involved none more so than those of a deep friendship where one person feels the tug of romantic love and the other does not, cannot. The challenge, then, is how to preserve the sanctity of friendship from being crushed beneath the weight of unequal expectations.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (October 21, 1772July 25, 1834) addressed this haunting paradox of friendship and romance in his marginalia while anguishing over a decade-deep chaste infatuation with his friend William Wordsworths sister-in-law, Sarah Hutchinson, all the while editing his literary journal, The Friend, which he dedicated to Sara.

Florida Principal Fired for Showing Michelangelos David in Class Is Invited to Italy

Photo: SvetlanaSF/Depositphotos

Michelangelo's David is one of the most famous sculptures in history and an iconic representation of the Renaissance. But recently, it's become the center of controversy at a Florida charter school. An image of the marble statue was shown to sixth-grade students during a required lesson on Renaissance art at the Classical School in Tallahassee. Subsequently, several parents complained that they hadn't been made aware that the image would be shown in class. One parent even stated that the famous piece of art was pornographic. Now the school's principal, Hope Carrasquilla, has been forced to resign.

The news has made headlines across the United States and in Italy. The David sculpture is on display at Florence's Galleria dell'Accademia and the city's mayor Dario Nardella has extended an invitation for the school's former principal to the city to view the artwork. He also made his views on the parents' complaints clear: To confuse art with pornography is simply ridiculous.

Cecilie Hollberg, director of the Galleria dellAccademia, wholeheartedly agrees. To think that David could be pornographic means truly not understanding the contents of the Bible, not understanding Western culture and not understanding Renaissance art, she told Fortune 

According to the school, the image of David, as well as Botticelli's ...

Abandoned High School Bought for $100K Is Transformed Into Stunning Apartment Building

With the right vision, an abandoned building can have a second life. In 2019, Jesse Wig saw the opportunity to turn an empty high school in Homestead, Pennsylvania, into a completely new type of space. The sellers were asking $100,000 for the 50,000-square-foot building. The 34-year-old real estate agent bought it, unsure of what hed do with it. Three years later, its now known as Bowtie High, a 31-unit luxury apartment building.

While Wig didn't know what hed make of the space when he first bought it, he knew that the price was right and bet on the fact hed come up with a good idea in the future. He connected with Adam Colucci, a 35-year-old real estate investor, and the men went back and forth for two years trying to decide what to do with the old school. They considered a co-working space, wedding venue, and beer garden before deciding to take the residential route.

Once they decided to transform the building into apartments, the men brought on Dan Spanovich as another partner. As a full-time developer and multifamily property manager, he helped them navigate

The resulting transformation turned the classrooms into contemporary, open-concept apartments complete with in-unit washers and dryers. The auditorium was made into a community space, and the gym has a half-basketball court lined with Peloton bikes.

Beyond making it a comfortable living space, it was important for the trio to ensure that the building kept some elements of its former life. We worked closely with the National Park Services to ensure it kept its historical significance, Colucci said. We went out of our way to ensure the school kept its historical look.

Bowtie High began leasing in October 2021 and reached 100% occupancy after six months. After a successful renovation, the three are back at it and purchased more schools to renovate and bring back into the community in a new way.

Jesse Wig bought an abandoned high school for $100,000 and with two other partners converted it into stunning apartments...

Ive heard of people being fired for a lot of things, but being too shy?

Now Ive heard it all!

But its all true, folks!

And a guy named Sam shared a video where he reenacted an encounter with his manager about why he was being let go from his job.

Take a look

@justsamisfinethanks so now I speak to anyone and everyone #fyp #story #storytime #fired #whyigotfired original sound Sam

Folks shared...