An unexpectedly sartorial week
Art & Culture News for the week starting 2/3/2025
Welcome to La Miccia! Arts & Culture News is a weekly roundup of what’s happening in the world, through the lens of art. Thanks for reading!
This week I had two perfect moments:
Last night, I went to the NYC Ballet to see a show inspired by photographer Elizaveta Porodina’s work. It was my first time at the ballet, and I went alone - it was the most magical experience. I cried during the pas de deux and read my book during intermission. When I left, I had to wade through what felt like a foot of snow (it wasn’t).
On Monday, I finished writing last week’s newsletter at Caffe Reggio with a friend. We sat inebriated by the sugar in our affogatos and we talked about creativity and bounced ideas off each other. The timing felt poignant, as I had just written my thoughts on NY Magazine’s first drop of Night School.
I am a firm believer that while writing can be done in isolation, idea creation is a communal process. Night School specifically mentioned New York’s pitch meetings, and how having a space to shout out ideas can be the catalyst for an embryonic thought to develop into something concrete. It also talked about how you can’t expect to come up with great ideas and create something great if you never leave your house. You need to talk to others. This is something I am trying to do more of.
The Super Bowl comes with serious artistic stakes. Also known as Museum Bowl, two museums are each wagering a loan on a Manet painting from their collection. The Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City is offering The Croquet Party (1871), while the Philadelphia Museum of Art is putting up The Folkestone Boat, Boulogne (1868–72). The game’s outcome will determine which painting gets sent on loan. Fun!
Left: The Croquet Party (source: Nelson-Atkins Museum), Right: The Folkestone Boat, Boulogne (source: PMA) While we’re on the topic, this year’s Super Bowl logo was created by New Orleans artist Tahj “Queen Tahj” Williams, a member of the Golden Eagles Tribe. She incorporates Black Masking techniques—intricate beadwork, featherwork, and sewing used to create the ceremonial suits of Black Masking Indians—into her work. Williams is the first to handcraft the logo and theme art. Traditional crafts are making a comeback. Who was it that said AI’s rise would make handmade skills more valuable?
Top: 2025 Super Bowl Logo, Bottom: Black Masking Indian Mardi Gras Suit Columbia is cutting incoming Ph.D. cohorts by up to 65 percent. This is part of a growing trend where even those universities with massive endowments are cutting academic programs and reducing graduate education.
The National Endowment for the Arts scrapped a grant which supported underserved communities. The NEA is an independent US federal agency that funds and supports access to the arts, it is also the latest institution to bend the knee amidst the flurry of executive orders churned out by the Trump administration. The now disbanded program would have awarded $2.8 million in small grants. Trump was never the NEA’s biggest fan, and he had tried to cancel arts and humanities endowments during his first administration (a move that was thankfully blocked thanks to bipartisan support). I’ve been reporting a lot on his plan to use agencies to steer cultural policies in a more “patriotic” - frankly, it feels like the bulk of my writing these days. Policies that dictate what art programs should be funded, how buildings should look, what portraits should be on display, what books should be available to read, all directly affect the identity of the society impacted. A society where culture is homogenous and promulgates nationalistic messages is… well, I’ll just quote myself:
Mussolini famously restructured the urban fabric of Rome using a simplified neoclassical style as well as modernist elements, a nod to the Roman Empire and an effort to cement Fascism as a symbol of power. Buildings are sites for propaganda and shape public perception. So, while Trump’s order may only pertain to federal buildings, mandating a singular national architectural style has historical ties to regimes that seek to impose cultural and ideological conformity.
Faith Wilding talking about her latest show and career is the best thing I’ve read all week, especially the part when she talks about her life. She grew up in a commune in the middle of the forest in Paraguay, reading the work of 12th century nun Hildegard von Bingen, then moved to LA, where she worked on Womanhouse in the ‘70s - a feminist project where a group of artists turned a house into an exhibition space. Her work is currently on view at Anat Ebgi gallery in New York. I want to go.
Researchers have uncovered a hidden portrait beneath Titian’s Ecce Homo. Great artists, they’re just like us, constantly questioning their choices.
You have to see this insane archive of Japanese chopstick sleeves. The brilliant
just posted her January reading recap, and she linked to it in her article - I’ve been fawning over it all morning.
Source: Letterform Archive
Are galleries no longer serving free drinks during openings? Sammy Loren from On The Rag seems to think so. I haven’t been to an opening in a while, so I’ll have to report back. Gallery hopping is such a fun (and cheap!) leisure activity, and thanks to ThirstyGallerina’s reporting I’ve had some great boozy evenings.
Chapell Roan wore an Edgar Degas inspired dress to the Grammys.
The 2025 Met Gala’s dress code has been announced. It is "Tailored for You” a nod to its accompanying exhibition at the Costume Institute titled “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”. According to the Met, the dress code is meant to inspire interpretations around tailoring techniques and the dandy style. I can’t wait to see.
Artwork of the week
Elizaveta Porodina, NYC Ballet Series (2024)
