Proximity Magazine

Times are bad. We see local galleries close and institutions selling their collections. There is financial fraud at nonprofits, “underperforming” auction houses, decreased ad revenue in art magazines, empty booths at art fairs, shrinking state funding, and hiring freezes at art schools. Layoffs and cutbacks are pretty much everywhere.
The upside of all the turmoil in [...]

Lit Column

An excerpt from James Kennedy’s sparkle-excellent first novel, The Order of Odd-Fish and a new comic from Grant Reynolds.

Skeletons in the Uncanny Valley

Portrait paintings have always given me the creeps. “The creeps,” in my opinion, is not necessarily a bad thing.

The Rake

Can a better system emerge from the wreckage? Can the art world return to making art instead of making inventory? And will any of us be able to afford it?

One Story of the Art Shanty Projects

You are shivering now, hard, and your chest clenches. Your bladder has shrunk too, and you have to pee every fifteen minutes. In a Porta-Potty. Did I mention the wind is blowing thirty miles per hour?

Two Truths and a Lie

Once again, I bring the performance art version of “Two Truthsand a Lie,” everyone’s second favorite party game.

Denigrate the Sedentary, Defecate in the Cemetary! Exorcising the Urban Ghostscape

For centuries graffiti has claimed visual space throughout cities, impudently besmirching society’s accreted attempts at organizing itself.

CULTURE IN THE CLINK: Poor Theatre in Chicago’s Federal Prison

Ten years ago, I was looking for a way to understand what life inside prison was like. My brother was locked up in Texas and he refused to let me visit.

Theaster Gates

In order to share hard truths, you need a vehicle. The vehicle could be something that I invent to reveal and other times, the stories come from the mouths of people who have lived them.