Our most-talked-about stories in Art, Design & Fashion, and Performing Arts, June 4-8, 2012:
VISUAL ARTS
— Kyle Chayka reviewed Postmasters gallery’s “Richteriana,” a critical exhibition that deconstructs the imminent canonization of famed German painter and conceptualist Gerhard Richter.
— We discovered a controversial public sculpture in Kansas by Yu Chang that was supposed to be a cross-cultural gift from China but drew controversy for its risqué subject matter and pro-sexting stance.
— Photographer David Benjamin Sherry told Chloe Wyma about his upcoming projects, taste for psychedelia, and passion for the magic of the darkroom (as well as tequila).
— ARTINFO Germany’s Alexander Forbes previewed Documenta 13, noting the curator’s loopy opening lecture, Pratchaya Phinthong’s tsetse fly sculpture, and Wael Shawky’s puppet-theater political drama.
— Julia Halperin investigated the changes afoot at Art Basel 2012, including increased preview time for VIPs and an ever-larger selection of satellite fairs and events.
DESIGN & FASHION
— Kelly Chan explained how contemporary architects are taking serious inspiration from the improvisatory design strategies of dense, poor urban slums in areas like Lagos and Mexico City.
— Just as they provided inspiration to F. Scott Fitzgerald while the author was writing the original Great Gatsby, Brooks Brothers provided costumes for the latest movie adaptation.
— In the midst of the Diamond Jubilee, Kate Middleton wore a dress that was previously donned by Kim Kardashian, and the world cringed.
— Black-Eyed Pea Will.i.am worked with digital arts company Spinifex to turn the Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art into a giant interactive work of art.
— Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet informed Ann Binlot about her latest art purchases and recent fashion obsessions.
PERFORMING ARTS
— Our movie critic J. Hoberman reviewed the “intermittently grandiose” and “ridiculously grandiloquent” “Prometheus,” starring Michael Fassbender.
— Graham Fuller discussed Todd Solondz’s preference for “manchild” protagonists with the director, as featured in his new film “Dark Horse,” starring Jordan Gelber, Mia Farrow, and Christopher Walken.
— Kathleen Turner, Liv Tyler, and Tracie Bennett talked drinking, stage endurance, and “The Graduate” in the Rainbow Room, a shrine to Judy Garland — Patrick Pacheco sat in.
— Danny Brown’s addictive summer jam “Grown Up” got an autobiographical music video featuring a pint-sized version of the rapper.
— After “The Other Woman” episode of “Mad Men,” you might’ve expected showrunner Matt Weiner to let things settle. Instead, the shocks kept on coming.