The Modern Art Notes Podcast

Episode No. 709 features author Adrienne L. Childs and curator Iris Moon. Childs [https://www.adriennelchilds.com/] is the author of "Ornamental Blackness: The Black Figure in European Decorative Arts." [https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300246094/ornamental-blackness/] The book, which was published by Yale University Press, examines the role decorative arts played in the representation of Black people within European visual and material culture. Amazon [https://amzn.to/3T5PxE7] and Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/p/books/ornamental-blackness-the-black-figure-in-european-decorative-arts-adrienne-l-childs/21692762?ean=9780300246094&next=t] offer it for $44-78. From the show: * The exhibition guide [https://images.henry-moore.org/uploads/2023/01/The-Colour-of-Anxiety-exhibition-guide.pdf] to the 2022-23 Henry Moore Institute exhibition "Race, Sexuality and Disorder in Victorian Sculpture," which Childs co-curated. Moon is the curator of "Monstrous Beauty: A Feminist Revision of Chinoiserie" [https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/monstrous-beauty-a-feminist-revision-of-chinoiserie] at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The exhibition is a feminist construction of the story of European porcelain. Chinese porcelain arrived in early modern Europe and led to the emergence of chinoiserie, a decorative style that foregrounded European fantasies about the East and the exotic, as well as about women, sexuality, and race. It is on view through August 17. The exhibition catalogue was published by the Met. Amazon [https://bookshop.org/p/books/monstrous-beauty-a-feminist-revision-of-chinoiserie-iris-moon/21691693?ean=9781588397928&next=t] and Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/p/books/monstrous-beauty-a-feminist-revision-of-chinoiserie-iris-moon/21691693?ean=9781588397928&next=t] offer it for about $35. Instagram: Adrienne Childs [https://www.instagram.com/fuzzychilds/], Tyler Green. [https://www.instagram.com/tylergreenbooks/]

Episode No. 708 features artist Paul Pfeiffer. The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is showing the retrospective "Paul Pfeiffer: Prologue to the Story of the Birth of Freedom." [https://visit.mcachicago.org/exhibitions/paul-pfeiffer-prologue-to-the-story-of-the-birth-of-freedom/] For over 25 years, Pfeiffer has investigated spectacle and mass culture, especially sport, and has found within it the power to create and extend political narratives. Included within the exhibition is only the second US presentation of Pfeiffer's landmark 2007 The Saints, an immersive sound and video installation that considers the 1966 men's World Cup final between England and West Germany that is one of the most significant works of the 21st century. "Pfeiffer" was curated by Clara Kim and Paula Kroll. The MCA presentation, which is on view through August 31, was organized by Bana Kattan with Iris Colburn. The exhibition catalogue was published by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and MACK. Amazon [https://amzn.to/4dAexNe] offers it for $65. Instagram: Paul Pfeiffer [https://www.instagram.com/pmp2021/], Tyler Green. [https://www.instagram.com/tylergreenbooks/]

Episode No. 707 of The Modern Art Notes Podcast is a holiday weekend clips episode featuring artist Lorna Simpson. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York is presenting "Lorna Simpson: Source Notes," [https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/lorna-simpson-source-notes] a survey that focuses on paintings that Simpson has made over the last decade. Across more than 30 works, "Simpson" spotlights the artist's explorations of gender, race, identity, representation, and history. The exhibition, which is on view through November 2, was curated by Lauren Rosati in "close collaboration with the artist." The exhibition catalogue was published by the Met. Amazon [https://amzn.to/43wwZlp] and Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/p/books/lorna-simpson-source-notes/b006854551182525?ean=9781588398000&next=t] offer it for about $40-45. This conversation was taped in 2017 on the occasion of “FOCUS: Lorna Simpson," [https://www.themodern.org/exhibition/focus-lorna-simpson] at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. The exhibition featured new work that juxtaposes beauty and promise with disaster and upheaval, often in the context of the representation of black women in Ebony magazine from the 1950s to the 1970s. It was curated by Alison Hearst. Instagram: Lorna Simpson [https://www.instagram.com/lornasimpson/], Tyler Green. [https://www.instagram.com/tylergreenbooks/]

Episode No. 706 features curators Leslie King-Hammond and Edward Saywell, and curator Jared Ledesma. Along with Patrick Murphy and Jennifer Farrell, Hammond and Saywell are the co-curators of "Witnessing Humanity: The Art of John Wilson" [https://www.mfa.org/exhibition/witnessing-humanity-the-art-of-john-wilson] at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The exhibition surveys Wilson's 60-year career, spotlighting the ways in which Wilson addressed anti-Black violence, the civil rights movement, labor, family life, and more. "Wilson" is on view in Boston through June 22 before traveling to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York in the fall. The richly illustrated exhibition catalogue was published by the MFA. It is available from Amazon [https://amzn.to/3YIF2df] and Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/p/books/john-wilson-witnessing-humanity/15cbfca6757e00ca?ean=9780878469024&next=t] for about $50. Ledesma is the curator of "Grace Hartigan: The Gift of Attention" [https://ncartmuseum.org/grace-hartigan/] at the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh. The exhibition is a focused examination of how Hartigan's relationships with New York poets, including Barbara Guest, James Merrill, and Frank O'Hara, influenced her paintings and works on paper. It is on view through August 10, 2025 before traveling to the Portland (Me.) Museum of Art and the Sheldon Museum of Art, University of Nebraska, Lincoln. An excellent catalogue was published by the museum. Amazon [https://amzn.to/3YGA40D] and Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/p/books/grace-hartigan/21475305?ean=9781913875886&next=t] offer it for around $35. Instagram: Jared Ledesma [https://www.instagram.com/orinocoflowin/], Tyler Green. [https://www.instagram.com/tylergreenbooks/]

Episode No. 705 features curators Dalila Scruggs and Catherine Morris, and artist Beatriz Cortez. With Mary Lee Corlett, Scruggs and Morris are the co-curators of "Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist" [https://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/elizabeth-catlett-black-revolutionary-artist] at the National Gallery of Art, Washington. The exhibition surveys Catlett's career across over 150 sculptures, prints, paintings, and drawings. The exhibition is on view through July 6. An exceptional exhibition catalogue, titled Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist and All That It Implies was published by the The University of Chicago Press, the NGA and the Brooklyn Museum, which originated the exhibition. It is available from Amazon [https://amzn.to/4kfXT7X] and Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/p/books/elizabeth-catlett-a-black-revolutionary-artist-and-all-that-it-implies-dalila-scruggs/21217386?ean=9780226836577&next=t] for $56-60. Catlett was a feminist, activist, and radical who helped join the Black Left in the US to influences from the Mexican Revolution. Her work continued the practice of earlier US artists such as Thomas Cole, Frederic Church, and Carleton Watkins by using cultural production to advance ideas and ideologies. Cortez is featured in "Seeds: Containers of a World to Come" [https://www.kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu/on-view/on-view/seeds-containers-of-a-world-to-come-2025] at the Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis. The exhibition features work by ten artists whose research-driven practices are informed by inquiry into plant-human-land relations. "Seeds" was curated by Meredith Malone and Svea Braeunert, and remains on view through July 28. The exhibition brochure is available here. [https://www.kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu/media/_file/KEMPER_Seeds_Booklet_DISCOUT_020425.pdf] "Beatriz Cortez x rafa esparza: Earth and Cosmos" [https://www.as-coa.org/exhibitions/beatriz-cortez-x-rafa-esparza-earth-and-cosmos] is at the Americas Society, New York through May 17. The show considers the idea of ancient objects traveling across space and time. Cortez's [https://beatrizcortez.com/] work explores simultaneity, life in different temporalities, and imaginaries of the future. She has been featured in solo exhibitions at Storm King Art Center, New Windsor, NY,; the Williams College Museum of Art; Clockshop, Los Angeles; and more. Instagram: Catherine Janet Morris [https://www.instagram.com/catherinejanetmorris/], Beatriz Cortez [https://www.instagram.com/beatrizcortezflores/], Tyler Green. [https://www.instagram.com/tylergreenbooks]