Ben Davis

Ben Davis

@benadavis.bsky.social

Writer. Author of '9.5 Theses on Art and Class' and 'Art in the After-Culture.' My newsletter at https://substack.com/@benstoppable

1.3K followers68 following137 posts

Ben Davis reposted

Dana Ivey
@dariv.bsky.social

Yes, the wall texts at the Met Museum are SO hard to read, the contrast is nil, the font too small, and the lighting poor--as if the Museum is embarrassed about the art. Wall Labels Are in a Sorry State. Here’s How to Fix Them news.artnet.com/art-world/mu... - @benadavis.bsky.social @metmuseum.org

news.artnet.comWall Labels Are in a Sorry State. Here's How to Fix Them | Artnet NewsWhy are museum wall labels so bad? A critic examines the jargon-heavy texts plaguing top biennials—and how to fix it.
Ben Davis
@benadavis.bsky.social

My Bulletin for Tuesday: the Natalie Portman movie 'The Gallerist,' October uncovers 'soft censorship' in DC, the Catholic Universities Art Triennial, Document Journal vs. Russian hackers, and YouTube legend Bobby Fingers news.artnet.com/artnet-bulle...

news.artnet.comNatalie Portman's Art Basel Satire Gets a Release Date—and Other Art World Matters | Artnet NewsFor today's Artnet Bulletin: "soft censorship" in D.C., the Vatican's Catholic Universities Art Triennial debuts, and Bobby Fingers is back.
Ben Davis
@benadavis.bsky.social

Links to stories I find interesting today: the @metmuseum.org's Raphael record, the Gugg's bacteria problem, Juliana Halpert on the "synchronic" LACMA, @mastroianni.bsky.social's theory of cultural stagnation... news.artnet.com/art-world/ar...

news.artnet.comRaphael Is the Met's Post-Pandemic Prince! And Other Art World Matters | Artnet NewsArtnet News Bulletin: Raphael's does numbers for the Met, bacteria found at the Guggenheim, a big theory of bad art, more.

Ben Davis reposted

farfama
@farfama.bsky.social

Forgot to cite this quote. It's from the book 'Art in the After-Culture: Capitalist Crisis and Cultural Strategy' by @benadavis.bsky.social. It's an incredible analysis of the current state of art. The quote is aptly at the very end of the 'AI Aesthetics and Capitalism' chapter.

farfama@farfama.bsky.social

"Do you know what the most popular type of art is—a genre so broadly loved that it is collected utterly apart from any market value or popular acclaim? Art made by children. Before art is visually splendid, before it is even articulate, it is valued as a connection to a consciousness in formation."

Ben Davis
@benadavis.bsky.social

Small but funny thing to me: American Arts Conservancy has fixed the amateur-hour typo from its founding press release I mentioned yesterday, but even doing this, they STILL fail to put in the open quotation mark

Ben Davis reposted

gregorg
@greg.org

Replying to @benadavis.bsky.social

Here is all you need to know about how this gig came together