In this series of interviews for ArtSlant, I wanted to talk to artists who are also involved in criticism or theory. There are any number of “crossovers” across creative and critical disciplines: Julian Schnabel is a painter and a filmmaker; Mel Bochner is a painter who has also been a good art reviewer.  However—using Barnett Newman, and more recently Mira Schor, as examples, as well as the quirky Robert Smithson’s dystopian fantasy world—I’d like to focus on artists who broaden their field... [more]

I read recently about a group in the States called The Order of the Good Death, who describe themselves as “a group of funeral industry professionals, academics, and artists exploring ways to prepare a death phobic culture for their inevitable mortality,” a mission which seems like both good sense and nonsense in equal measure.   I myself am what I suppose could be labeled death-phobic. The many other things of which I am afraid —mechanical or puppet clowns, ventriloquist's dummies, clusters... [more]

Few contemporary artists are as productive and versatile as Michael Tedja. The speed at which he paints and draws is nearly frantic; his output is enormous in quantity and size. But that’s only one aspect of his artistry. He has recorded music and lectures, published two novels and regularly submits essays to national and international magazines. Besides this he is active as a curator, runs a publishing company (DFI Publishers), and has over the years become a fixture in the Amsterdam poetry... [more]