Necessary Links: Saving the NEA, Shia LaBeouf’s protest piece, scream painting
More on the doings of Donald Trump and the National Endowment for the Arts. Shia LaBeouf’s protest art. And the resignation of South Korea’s culture minister. Plus, a Cuban dissident artist is freed, artists who say no and the wonder that is scream painting. These are your Necessary Links:
— Last week, the political publication the Hill reported that the Trump administration might want to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Culture writer Claire Fallon offers a list of concrete steps you can take to prevent this from happening. Huffington Post
— From Alaska to Georgia, a scrolling list of projects funded by the NEA. Neafunded.us
— Plus, urbanism writer Natalie Delgadillo offers a clear, thorough look at how the Trump administration may or may not be able to act punitively against sanctuary cities. Citylab
— Actor and performance artist Shia LaBeouf has installed an anti-Trump work of video art outside of the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City, where participants are invited to state, “He will not divide us.” LaBeouf shouted down an alleged white supremacist who arrived to troll the piece at the site earlier this week. Los Angeles Times, Mashable
— In classic comic books, there is a long history of punching Nazis. Fantagraphics
— Cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz on satire in the age of Trump. PRI’s The World
— The reader reviews of “Why Trump Deserves Trust, Respect and Admiration,” by David King, are pure poetry. Amazon
— Where did German Chancellor Angela Merkel go during Trump’s inauguration? A museum. The Week
— South Korean Culture Minister Cho Yoon-sun has resigned after it was discovered that she had kept a blacklist of artists to deny them government resources. Note to L.A. curators: A show of the blacklisted artists is something I’d want to see. Artnet
— Cuban artist Danilo Maldonado Machado, the graffiti artist known as “El Sexto,” has been released from a prison outside Havana, after being arrested for celebrating the death of Fidel Castro. Artforum
— Josh Begley created a stunning animation of the U.S.-Mexico border using satellite imagery. The Intercept
— When the Museum of Modern Art throws out your sculpture — and neglects to tell you. New York Times
— “Male villains, for example, can be any shape or size. But female villains are usually in their menopausal or postmenopausal phases. They’re older, they’re single, they’re angry.” A look at how the animation school at the California Institute of the Arts — where it’s now a female majority — could change the type of animation we see in the future. New York Times
— A look at artists who said no to the trappings of fame and the commercial ways of the art industrial complex. Greg.org
— And last but not least: Scream painting. I think this captures the national mood. YouTube
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