Ben Davis

good points! I thought of Joans in particular because he was such a star of the "International Beyond Borders" show!

The Disturbing Lessons of the 1937 ‘Degenerate Art’ Show | Artnet News 7 points to keep in mind when the specter of the 1937 "Entartete Kunst," or "Degenerate Art" show, is invoked today.

Since it seems to be coming up a lot, I went back to dig up some details from the 1937 "Degenerate Art Show" to see what the lessons are
news.artnet.com/art-world/de...

‘Sixties Surreal’ at the Whitney Explores a Forgotten Side of the 1960s 'Sixties Surreal' at the Whitney surfaces a lot of art from an important time. It's more vibes than anything else—but what vibes!

My take on 'Sixties Surreal' at the Whitney: camels, sex, and social revolution
news.artnet.com/art-world/si...

Man Ray at the Met: A One-Man Art Movement | Artnet News Discover the Man Ray Met Museum exhibition “When Objects Dream,” showcasing iconic Rayographs, surreal objects, and innovative experiments.

What was the “Mouvement Flou”? Some thoughts on a very fun Man Ray show at the Met news.artnet.com/art-world/ma...

These 15 Artists Are the Biggest at U.S. Museums Right Now | Artnet News From hundreds of museum exhibitions, these artists are having the best September 2025, from Jeffrey Gibson to Teresa Baker.

I picked through several thousand art shows at several thousand museums, and here are the artist names that turn up the most this month at U.S. museums
news.artnet.com/art-world/mo...

The White House Proposes Weird A.I. Paintings as the Future of Patriotic Education | Artnet News The Founders Museum is a project of PragerU, now installed in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Here's what it looks like.

Art Critic @benadavis.bsky.social watched about 3.5 hours of AI generated video of founding fathers, part of White House & Prager U right wing propaganda collab. news.artnet.com/art-world/wh...

Essays and Podcasts of August 2025 My "content slurry" theory, PragerU's talking paintings, Agnieszka Kurant’s science-art, Cara Romero's big year, a big "state of art now" interview, more.

I put together all the links to things I wrote, podcast appearances, etc., for my personal newsletter. If you want to read it, or get it in the future, here it is:
benstoppable.substack.com/p/essays-and...

Here's My Personal Method for Seeing an Art Show, If You Want to Get the Most Out of It | Artnet News How to get the most out of a day at the museum? Consider these three steps: Make a Map, Find the Story, and Focus In.

Excellent tips for looking at art by @benadavis.bsky.social for artnet - advice for pacing and the value of taking your time one piece, keys to real seeing news.artnet.com/art-world/ho...

The White House Proposes Weird A.I. Paintings as the Future of Patriotic Education | Artnet News The Founders Museum is a project of PragerU, now installed in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Here's what it looks like.

I watched through all the White House's "Founders Museum" A.I.-animated paintings teaching U.S. Revolutionary history, installed in D.C in partnership right-wing YouTube content farm #PragerU. news.artnet.com/art-world/wh...

The Great Enslurrification of Culture | Artnet News Everything is being forced into multimedia form, and that's resulting in a new kind of bad online content. Let's call it slurry.

Something on the spiral towards multimedia-izing everything
news.artnet.com/art-world/sl...

Why Is This Artist Growing Metal in a Box? | Artnet News Agnieszka Kurant's "Collective Intelligence" at Marian Goodman shows her left-brain art for right-brain people (and vice versa).

Cool show of art-science-y art by Agnieszka Kurant

news.artnet.com/art-world/ag...

Jeffrey Epstein’s Taste in Art Was Just as Twisted as You’d Think The art collection of Jeffrey Epstein remains a symbolically important enigma within the much larger morass of unresolved mysteries around him

On that hanging bride sculpture from those NYT Epstein house photos
news.artnet.com/art-world/je...

Essays and Podcasts of July 2025 Andrea Fraser's 5 art worlds, Dan Colen's biennial, Johnny Depp's Modigliani movie, Homeland Security's painting posts, a fun chat about delightmares, more.

Here is my July 2025 personal newsletter, with links to all the things I wrote and podcasts I did last month
substack.com/home/post/p-...

The Round-Up: Johnny Depp Does Modigliani, Labubu Mania, and a Weird Idea for the Venice Biennale Podcast Episode · The Art Angle · 07/31/2025 · 46m

The Art Angle monthly round-up with Kate and Naomi: Johnny Depp's self-mythologizing Modigliani film, Andres Serrano's pitch for Venice, the Labubu-art synthesis
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

How to Think About Homeland Security’s Unhinged Art Posts | Artnet News A random collection of art is being swept into the DHS's social feed, alongside Star Wars memes and mugshots. What does it mean?

Today’s Editor’s Pick is 'How to Think About Homeland Security’s Unhinged Art Posts' by @benadavis.bsky.social for Artnet. A critic’s take on the meaning behind recent social media posts of classic artworks from Homeland Security.

How to Think About Homeland Security’s Unhinged Art Posts | Artnet News A random collection of art is being swept into the DHS's social feed, alongside Star Wars memes and mugshots. What does it mean?

I wrote about the shitposting mess that is the DHS official social media feed... As I say, I don't think that gibbering cruelty is actually a popular strategy, though as I think about it, maybe it suggests a post-democratic mindset, and the intent is to underline that news.artnet.com/art-world/dh...

The Field of Contemporary Art: A Diagram - Notes - e-flux Andrea Fraser lays out the five subfields of contemporary art and their complex interrelations.

Thanks! I was very glad to discover the essay by Fraser, and it is really worth the read www.e-flux.com/notes/634540...

Talking with the great Andrea Fraser about the evolving world(s) of art. Promo below, link here podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

How the Post-Pandemic Generation Is Changing Digital Art The Art Angle · Episode

I talked to Maya Man about how digital art is evolving post-pandemic. One thing I got out of this is how, as digital stuff becomes more and more embedded in life, the character of digital art becomes more and more like performance, less and less like an object open.spotify.com/episode/69wr...

The Subtly Unsettling Logic of This Prize-Winning A.I. Film | Artnet News Does A.I. film unlock the deepest secrets of reality? Yes, argues Jacob Adler's 'Total Pixel Space,' which won gold at the A.I. Film Festival.

The more I think about this A.I. film's idea of "total pixel space," the stranger it gets
news.artnet.com/art-world/to...
with reference to @taylorlorenz.bsky.social on A.I. worship and tywenkelly.com on the "New Acheiropoieta"

Which Artists Are Big at U.S. Museums This Month? I Scoured Hundreds of Shows to Find Out | Artnet News Read about the artists who have the most shows going on in museums around the United States this month.

Today’s Editor’s Pick is 'Which Artists Are Big at U.S. Museums This Month? I Scoured Hundreds of Shows to Find Out' by @benadavis.bsky.social for Artnet.

Which Artists Are Big at U.S. Museums This Month? I Scoured Hundreds of Shows to Find Out | Artnet News Read about the artists who have the most shows going on in museums around the United States this month.

Always a very demanding but rewarding project--combing hundreds of museum websites to find out which artists are getting the most attention from curators right now
news.artnet.com/art-world/mu...

I Have Seen the 'Dark Enlightenment Art World' and It Is Extremely Dorky | Artnet News Silicon Valley monarchist Curtis Yarvin really, really wants to trigger you over his Venice Biennale idea.

Here's something about Curtis Yarvin's very, very thirsty ad for himself to take over the Venice Biennale
news.artnet.com/art-world/cu...

The Odd Experiment of A.I. Art Summaries in Venice | Artnet News At Carlo Ratti's Biennale, “Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.,” an A.I. Summary wrestles with human text.

We got a reply to this from the team behind the A.I.-generated text that'll go up over the weekend news.artnet.com/art-world/a-...

The Art World's Octopus Teacher Podcast Episode · The Art Angle · 06/05/2025 · 37m

Did a podcast with artist Miriam Simun, who teaches people how to think like an octopus. I mean that literally. embodiment, sensory inversion, speculative cognition, all in a workshop, which I did
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

#miriamsimun #recessart #transhumanism #octopuscore

ISP Alumni & Faculty Friends, Faculty, and Alumni of the Whitney Independent Study Program

Open letter from the alumni and faculty of the Whitney Independent Study Program. Ispalumni.org

Here's My Personal Method for Seeing an Art Show, If You Want to Get the Most Out of It | Artnet News How to get the most out of a day at the museum? Consider these three steps: Make a Map, Find the Story, and Focus In.

Some personal thoughts on how to see an art show news.artnet.com/art-world/ho...

Essays and Podcasts of May 2025 "Anti-memes" as a cultural force; artwork-as-software-as-ride; the agenda hidden in the NEH cuts; more.

My monthly personal newsletter
substack.com/home/post/p-...

A Crypto Billionaire's Lawsuit, Koons’s Hulk Blasts Back,' the Art Basel Awards Podcast Episode · The Art Angle · 05/29/2025 · 39m

Talking about billionaire art shenanigans, the sweet sounds of a Koons 'Tuba Hulk,' and Art Basel's 'Survivor'-style art awards
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a...

There's One Area Favored by Trump's Culture Grants, and It's Not the U.S. | Artnet News What the National Endowment for the Humanities's paltry summer funding for scholars says about the administration's worldview.

My analysis of what's getting support in this Trump-era round of National Endowment for the Humanities grants (possibly last round, if they succeed in defunding NEH) news.artnet.com/art-world/ne...