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This month in Artforum:
THE BEST OF 2016. Seventeen distinguished contributors—David Adjaye, Christine Tohme, Hal Foster, Grace Wales Bonner, Jack Bankowsky, Christine Macel, Jeffrey Weiss, Eva Birkenstock, Matthew Higgs, Du Keke, Greil Marcus, Daniel Birnbaum, Claire Bishop, Negar Azimi, Michael Ned Holte, Tim Griffin, and Vince Aletti—consider the year in art:
“This exhibition proves conclusively that Marshall is the master American painter.”
—David Adjaye on Kerry James Marshall: Mastry
“Shaw’s and Oursler’s collections underscore a dire aspect of our political culture. As Yeats put it famously, in another apocalyptic moment a century ago, ‘The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.’”
—Hal Foster on Jim Shaw: The End Is Here and Tony Oursler: The Imponderable Archive
“You can’t but welcome a woman—the tenacious Frances Morris—at Tate Modern’s helm, just as you can’t but commend the work developed by its curators, who have studied certain scenes across the globe in-depth.”
—Christine Macel on the new Tate Modern, London
“Hammons is clever, twisted, uncompromising: like a trickster god, he masks and obfuscates to reveal deeper truths.”
—Grace Wales Bonner on David Hammons: Five Decades
THE YEAR IN SHOCK. Curator Helen Molesworth, critic Tariq Ali, and political theorist Wendy Brown each reflect on a year of upheaval—and the upending of perceptual and political experience:
“The speed with which the neoliberal system wipes out memory is incredible.”
—Tariq Ali
John Waters, Amy Taubin, James Quandt, Melissa Anderson, and J. Hoberman count down the year’s highlights on film:
“Only Isabelle Huppert could play this hetero-deviant character with feminist dignity. Isn’t she the best actress in the whole wide world?”
—John Waters on Isabelle Huppert in Paul Verhoeven’s Elle
Cameron Jamie, Johanna Fateman, Chino Amobi, John Roberts, and Angel Olsen pick key moments in music from 2016:
“In the video for Young M.A’s breakout single, the rapper drinks Hennessy, eats Chinese takeout, and delivers singsongy burns with the laid-back hypermasculinity of her hero 50 Cent.”
—Johanna Fateman on Young M.A’s “OOOUUU”
Books: Trey Ellis, Jessica Morgan, Liz Larner, Daniel Baumann, Manuel Borja-Villel, Natasha Stagg, Yasmine El Rashidi, and Terry Castle name the most compelling reads of the season:
“Men writing about manly pursuits can be treacherous territory, veering into self-aggrandizement. William Finnegan, however brings a gorgeous humility to riding impossible mountains of water, and to his obsessive, almost desperate need to find answers inside the next barrel.”
—Trey Ellis on William Finnegan’s Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life
And: The Artists’ Artists: 47 artists and collectives from around the world choose the most striking work, event, exhibition, or image for them this year: Fikret Atay, Gina Beavers, Billy Al Bengston, Carol Bove, Dora Budor, Julien Ceccaldi, Anne Collier, Gregory Crewdson, Keren Cytter, Mira Dancy, Raul de Nieves, Angelina Dreem, Jimmie Durham, Gogy Esparza, Katharina Fritsch, Bernard Frize, Simon Fujiwara, Joe Fyfe, Charles Gaines, Liam Gillick, Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, Frank Heath, Thomas Hirschhorn, Evan Holloway, Alex Hubbard, Ralph Lemon, Sam McKinniss, Catherine Murphy, Emeka Ogboh, Howardena Pindell, Rashid Rana, Sean Raspet, Rachel Rose, Julian Schnabel, Karin Schneider, Cindy Sherman, Slavs and Tatars, Kiki Smith, Tao Hui, Torey Thornton, Cosima von Bonin, Stanley Whitney, Jack Whitten, Nicole Wittenberg, Wang Yin, and Rose Wylie.
Plus: Erika Balsom on Philippe Parreno, Andy Campbell on the Year in Performance, Johanna Fateman on Mierle Laderman Ukeles, and Kevin McGarry on the 32nd São Paulo Bienal.
