THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF THE VISUAL ARTS Volume 31 No. 5 May/June 2017 $6.00 US/ $7.75 Canada/ £4 UK/ C=6.50 Europe GENDER POLITICS IN ART Established 1973 ARTAIDSAMERICA Chicago: ONE EXHIBITION, TWO VIEWS The Anguish of Remembering by MICHEL SÉGARD Page 25 Under-Representing an American Tragedy by THOMAS FELDHACKER Page 30 “The Will to Ignorance: The Role of Academia in the Postmodern Debacle”— JORGE BENITEZ’S third installment in his trilogy, The Avant-Garde and the Delusion of American Exceptionalism Page 17 American Art’s International Champion—TOM MULLANEY interviews CEO of the Terra Foundation Page 6 The Future of Art Criticism—KATE TOFTNESS reports on the College Art Association’s annual conference Page 3 I STATEMENT OF PURPOSE New Art Examiner The New Art Examiner is a publication The New Art Examiner is published by Art Message whose purpose is to examine the definition International. The name “New Art Examiner” and the logo are trademarks of Art Message Interna- and transmission of culture in our society; tional. Copyright 2017 by Art Message Internation- the decision-making processes within al; all rights reserved. Authors retain the copyright museums and schools and the agencies of to their essays. patronage which determine the manner in Editor in Chief—Michel Ségard which culture shall be transmitted; the value Senior Editor—Tom Mullaney systems which presently influence the Social Media Editor—Thomas Feldhacker making of art as well as its study in Copy Editor—Anne Ségard exhibitions and books; and, in particular, Design and Layout—Michel Ségard the interaction of these factors with the visual art milieu. Contributing Editors: Jorge Benitez John Link EDITORIAL POLICY Web Site: www.newartexaminer.org As the New Art Examiner has consistently raised the issues of conflict of interest and cen- Cover Image: sorship. We think it appropriate that we make Michel Ségard clear to our readers the editorial policy we have evolved since our inception: The New Art Examiner is indexed in : Art Bibliographies Modern, Art Full Text & 1. No writer may review an exhibition origi- Art Index Retrospective and Zetoc nated or curated by a fellow faculty member or another employee, or any past or present stu- Office: dent, from the institution in which they are 5542 N. Paulina St., Chicago, IL 60640. USA. currently employed. The New Art Examiner Inquiries: welcomes enthusiastic and sincere representa- [email protected] tion, so the editor can assign such an exhibi- All Letters to the editor are printed. Send to: tion to other writers without the burden of con- [email protected] flict of interest. 2. There shall be no editorial favor in re- sponse to the puchase of advertisements. WANTED: WRITERS 3. The New Art Examiner welcomes all let- ters to the Editor and guarantees publishing. The New Art Examiner is looking for writers Very occasionally letters may be slightly edited interested in the visual arts in any major for spelling or grammar or if the content is metropolitan area in the U.S. You would start considered to be libellous. with short reviews of exhibition in your area. Later, longer essays on contemporary visual art 4. The New Art Examiner does not have an affiliation with any particular style or ideology, issues could be accepted. or social commitment that may be expressed or represented in any art form. All political, Please send a sample of your writing (no more ethical and social commentary are welcome. than a few pages) to: The New Art Examiner has actively sought di- versity. All opinions are solely of the writer. Michel Ségard This applies equally to editorial staff when Editor-in-Chief they pen articles under their own name. New Art Examiner at 5. The general mandate of the New Art [email protected] Examiner is well defined in the statement of purpose above. II NEW ART EXAMINER CONTENTS 2 Letter from the Editor 3 The Future of Art Criticism KATE HADLEY TOFTNESS: Four editors trade views on art criticism and its future at the College Art Association’s annual meeting 6 American Art’s International Champion TOM MULLANEY interviews Terra Foundation CEO Elizabeth Glassman; Reveals its significant sponsorship of American Art and a major new initiative 10 Gallery Weekend Chicago BRUCE THORN takes a walk through Chicago Gallery Weekend 2017 and separates the wheat from the chaff 18 “The Will to Ignorance” JORGE MIGUEL BENITEZ’S third essay of his trilogy: The Avant-Garde and the Delusion of American Exceptionalism 22 GENDER POLITICS IN ART 23 Gender Identity and the Male Gaze LARRY KAMPHAUSEN explores the effect of the male gaze on our interpretation of works of art 25 ARTAIDSAMERICA Chicago: The Anguish of Remembering MICHEL SÉGARD, a veteran of the period, views the exhibit as a memorial to the early days of AIDS catastrophe 30 ARTAIDSAMERICA Chicago: Under-Representing an American Tragedy THOMAS FELDHACKER, a millennial, critiques the curators and their failure to capture the real tragedy 32 Reviews 32 Cyclical Dialog of Materials and Making by ELIZABETH HARTNETT 34 Two French Photographers Across Generations by EVAN CARTER Sabine Weiss, “Intimate Memory” and Laurent Millet, “Somnium” 35 Imagists, Pinball Art and Pop Culture by EVANGELINE REID 1 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Dear Reader, This issue institutes a change in the organization We have made a tentative start to covering that and leadership of the New Art Examiner. Due topic with Bruce Thorn’s essay on Gallery Week- to unresolved administrative issues between the end Chicago 2017. Also, there are a number of U.S. and United Kingdom editors who generate alternative artists groups who are almost never the magazine’s content, the New Art Examiner covered because they do not show in major gal- will no longer carry articles that originate from leries. We are making a commitment to go to the U.K. them and report on and review their efforts, good As a result, our leadership has also changed. or bad. There is no longer an individual called the Pub- Of course we will continue to cover the deeds lisher. That role is reserved for our sponsoring and misdeeds of major institutions and galleries. not-for-profit organization, Art Message Interna- But they will not be the dominant focus of our tional. As Editor-in-Chief, I will be shepherding editorial content as so often they’ve been in the the New Art Examiner through the challeng- past. In the tradition of co-founder Jane Addams es of bringing its content up-to-date and taking Allen, our goal is to make the Examiner a truly its distribution system into the 21st century, i.e. open forum for the discussion and exploration electronic information distribution—the internet. of contemporary issues in the visual arts via the We start with updating the content of the publication of provocative articles, reviews and Examiner. The magazine will be more current lively letters to the editor. about cultural and political issues that are affect- Finally, the Examiner is entering a new dis- ing the art world. For example, in this issue, we tribution stage. Confronting the increasing shift have introduced a special section on Gender Pol- of information dissemination via the internet, we itics in Art to coincide with Gay Pride Month in are creating a new website, newartexaminer.org, June. The section contains an essay by Larry where all content will be free. That site will be Kamphausen titled “Gender Identity and the Male online in early May. Gaze” and two reviews of the ARTAIDSAMERICA Subscriptions hereafter will be only for those Chicago exhibition. wishing a printed copy of the magazine. Sub- One by Michel Ségard is titled “The Anguish scription payment will be made possible via of Remembering” and views the exhibition as a PayPal. The print version of the magazine will still memorial to the early days of the AIDS epidem- be available at as many outlets as possible. In ic from the point of view of a senior who lived this issue, our present outlets are listed on the through it. The other, titled “Under-Representing Subscription and Advertising page on the inside an American Tragedy,” was written by Thomas back cover. Feldhacker, our social media editor. As a millen- We hope, dear reader, that these changes meet nial, he searches for the necessary attention the with your approval. We trust that you will let us ongoing epidemic needs for those most affected know your verdict via your letters and through by it today, a situation he felt was lacking in the social media on our Facebook page. We will strive exhibition. to meet your visual arts information and analysis We will be assembling special sections on cur- needs. Here’s looking to tomorrow! rent, relevant topics as the opportunity arises. For example, we would like to do a special sec- tion on racial politics in the arts in the near future. Michel Ségard Another highly relevant topic is the emergence Editor-in-Chief of alternative distribution networks for artists. New Art Examiner 2 ARTICLES NEW ART EXAMINER The Future of Art Criticism: Four Editors Trade Views at the College Art Association’s Annual Meeting By Kate Hadley Toftness he College Art Association’s annual con- conversation was compact and useful. I would ference, the largest international gathering summarize it as: How to Do It, How to Pay for It, Tof visual arts professionals, was held in How to Do It – Part II, and finally, Why Do It? New York this past February. Where better, I figured, to take the pulse of art criticism? The How To Do It overflowing agenda of professorial opinion fea- “Get a rough draft out, no matter how pain- tured a noontime forum, “Key Conversation: Art ful it is—and it’s often painful—leave it for a Criticism,” with four editors who traded view- day, and then come back to it and make it com- points about the future of their practice.