Four Seasons Or What I Learned On My Sabbatical (That Also Applies To A Well Balanced Life) PART TWO

Continuation from PART ONE of this post…..

6. Learn Good Boundaries Around Your Planned Schedule

One of the toughest parts of a sabbatical, and really for academics generally, is getting others outside our orbit to understand the demands on our time. While it may appear that we are “not working” in the traditional sense of the word— the hours we spend in a classroom only make up one very small part of our jobs— we are always juggling many tasks. Whether it be lecture prep, grading, committee work, service work, research, writing, conference travel, student advising, event planning… the list goes on and on… there is some part of our brains that is always activated, and it is hard to “turn off” what we do. All of this intensifies with a sabbatical as frameworks for deadlines (from teaching, grading, meetings etc..) disappear and the pressure to execute specific long term projects becomes isolated and dependant on your own time management skills. At the same time, opportunities for sabotage and temptation open up as friends and family see your time on leave as open-ended and a signal that you are somehow taking a vacation from work. Therefore, learning to police your time wisely and explaining early on to loved ones what it is you are setting out to accomplish on your sabbatical is critical to success. Blocking out dedicated time in your schedule for lunch/dinner dates, special events, and downtime is also important so that firm boundaries exist around work-specific times in your day/week/month, and so that you can point to optional times in your schedule when you are available without distraction. This is also why Lesson #1 and Lesson #2 are non-negotiable. The upside is that you can enjoy time with friends and family without guilt or worry over what “you should be doing.”

7. KNOW YOUR WORK HABITS TENDENCY

Now that you have time carved out and dedicated to specific tasks, the challenge arises around two evils: procrastination and honouring limits. First, about procrastination. As much as we imagine our perfectly planned routines and schedules to catapult us to success, the reality is that you may not feel like doing what is on your agenda on any given day. If you are at all familiar with Gretchen Rubin’s book The Four Tendencies, you will know that she divides personality types into four distinct patterns when it comes to approaching routine and habits: Upholders, Questioners, Obligers, and Rebels. Essentially, what Rubin argues (and we all know to be true) is that we are all motivated in different ways and for different reasons. Here is a rough break down from her book on how this looks:

• Upholders meet inner and outer expectations. They love rules, having a clear plan and are self-motivated and disciplined. Clearly tell them what needs to be done and they’ll lead the way.

• Questioners meet their own expectations, but resist outer ones. They need to see purpose and reason in anything they do. Make it clear why what you want from them is important.

• Obligers meet other peoples’ expectations easily, but struggle with their own. The must be held accountable by a friend, coach or boss to get things done. They thrive when they have a sense of duty and can work in a team.

• Rebels defy both outer and inner expectations. Above all, they want to be free to choose and express their own individuality. Give them the facts, present the task as a challenge and let them decide without pressure.

Me, I am a Rebel through and through with shades of the Questioner, and this means that I must build in tons of flexibility and purpose to whatever task I have at hand. When I sit down to work, I have a list of options so that I can select a task (within reason and that meets my broader goals/deadlines) that suits my mood or answers a particular interest I am pursuing in the moment. Others, like Upholders are much luckier and can just start at the top of the list, or if you are an Obliger, you tend to do better when you are in a group challenge, or are promising to someone else to meet a deadline. Bottom line, you have to know yourself when it comes to why you procrastinate and be prepared to engineer success based on your work habits tendencies.

Time will pass whether you plan for it or not….

8. EMBRACE THE POWER OF INTERVAL TRAINING

This leads to the second evil— honouring limits. All of us have experienced that sense of total immersion in a project, where time and space evaporate and creativity reigns. And ironically enough, this immersion often comes after some period of procrastination, setting up that scenario where you are pulling all-nighters or inadvertently working well into other parts of your schedule, breaking the entire premise of Lesson #6. While this way of working can be useful from time to time, it is unsustainable as a long-term strategy and leads to a very out of balance life (I know this from experience!). Enter interval training or the Pomodoro technique— the practice of doing short and intense periods of work followed by rest and recovery. This lesson was so profoundly important to my sabbatical that I blogged about it earlier this year. The importance of interval training is that you are setting up the habit of coaxing yourself into work (which is half the battle) but then teaching yourself to pull away and rest (the other half of the battle). The result is balance and establishing the confidence to know that you are getting a bit done day by day instead of building anxiety around the expectation of one enormous work period. As I like to ask my students by way of metaphor: “Which is more productive? Going to to the gym for one hour, three days a week, for twelve weeks to build your body, or spending one whole week all day in the gym once every six months to meet those same goals?” I think we all know the answer.

The steps of the Pomodoro technique are dead simple:

1. Decide on the task you want to tackle

2. Set a timer for the work interval you choose (25-45 minutes is the norm)

3. Work on the task without any distractions during that time (i.e. turn off all external stimuli)

4. End work when the timer goes off

5. Take a break away from your desk for the time you choose (5-15 minutes). Congratulations, you have completed one Pomodoro

6. Repeat, and after 3-4 Pomodoros, finish for the day, or take a break equivalent to one Pomodoro (25-45 minutes) before returning to work

Interval training got me to where I am in the gym. As I learned this year, it should be no different in my work and professional life.

9. UNPLUG, Delegate, and Outsource Whenever Possible

I still remember the day that I discovered grocery home delivery. In fact, it still makes me giddy with delight just thinking about it. For me, grocery shopping— planning, making lists, driving, parking, shopping, unloading the car etc…— was easily 3-4 hours of my life each week doing something I loathed. Once I outsourced grocery shopping to a delivery service that allows me to shop online from a saved list and schedule drop off at whatever time suits my schedule, I clawed back several hours every week for tasks I would rather do. My point here is that it is worth looking into what tasks/obligations you can either unplug, delegate, and outsource. Whether it be hiring someone to clean your home a few times a month, or mind your child, walk your dog, or delegate some of your tasks (taxes, travel plans, etc..) to others, there is value in calculating the time and energy you gain in exchange for the expenditure. Another important aspect of this lesson is learning to saying no to invitations or requests that you would normally take on during the academic year. Now is the time to rescue hours in your day. This includes visiting your home campus during the sabbatical year (DON’T) or writing letters of reference (AVOID unless absolutely necessary) or agreeing to any form of committee work while on leave (YOU WILL REGRET IT). You get the picture.

Unplugging, delegating, and outsourcing gave me more time to enjoy bike riding and latte drinking. But seriously, calculate what your time is worth and make some decisions to claw back precious hours in your week.

10. Try on New Habits For Your Return To Work

The final lesson is the one I am currently working on and refining as I transition back to work— figuring out which of my habits and routines from the sabbatical year will find their way into my regular life. Importantly, I was already thinking about my return to work well before September, and had already began drafting imagined “back to work” calendars in late spring to envision what the new post-sabbatical me may bring. Three weeks into a new semester, I can report that most significantly I am maintaining and policing my fitness schedule, but have dropped from training five days a week to 3-4 days a week, depending on my grading and lecture prep load. I have also continued to schedule in time each week for drawing, reading for pleasure, and downtime. Sunday, especially, remains pretty sacred in this regard, and I try not to schedule any work on that day so that I can enjoy time with my husband and/or friends and loved ones. I have also looked carefully over the next twelve months for opportunities to work on my bucket list. My goal of acquiring my motorcycle license is in the works for next spring/summer, and I have two trips/mini-vacations planned, along with some other non-academic related writing goals. Above all, my sabbatical has taught me how to dial back the anxiety and stress I often experienced in the course of a regular academic year. Planning and boundary-setting have resulted in gaining some measure of control, and guilt-free time, in my day to day life. As a result, not only am I a better professor and researcher, I am also a more balanced individual.

Four Seasons Or What I Learned On My Sabbatical (That Also Applies To A Well Balanced Life) PART ONE

One year ago, I began my first formal sabbatical as part of my faculty appointment at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Taking leave to pursue research and other projects is a tradition well established within academia, but also dates back as a practice to biblical times, signalling a break from work (sabbatical from the Greek work sabbatikos —a “ceasing”). To be sure, the very concept flies in the face of our fast-paced and profit driven world, and I too had approached the application with some trepidation as I was happy with the hard-won rhythm established in my teaching and work life. Still, with a book project in press and my co-editor just coming off her own sabbatical to pass the baton to me, it was necessary to take the plunge and set out on a four season odyssey that ended up being one of the most profound and transformative years of my life.

Now however exaggerated or overblown that may sound, upon reflection I have come to realize that the most important lessons of my year’s leave are ones that will continue to guide me as I transition back to my normal (and now hopefully more balanced) life. Having the privilege of standing back and gaining a new perspective on how I choose to live day to day was not something I wanted to take for granted. In fact, my biggest fear was not utilizing this gift of time and space wisely. But as I wound down the twelve months, the take-away lessons crystalized, and I have assembled them here as a list of ten, in hopes that some of them may be of use to others who are either getting ready to take the sabbatical plunge or simply looking to find more balance in their lives. Part One continues below, and I will post Part Two later in the week.

1. PLAN FOR YOUR TIME

In the months leading up to my official leave date, I began looking for resources to help plan for my sabbatical. Speaking with those who had embarked on one or more leaves already, it became clear that almost everyone approached the sabbatical differently, and often without much guidance. Three books that were incredibly helpful early on in my hunt were Reboot Your Life: Energize Your Career and Life By Taking A Break and Designing Your Life. Both texts lay out a blueprint for brainstorming and assessing how to identify and prioritize the way you want to spend large amounts of unstructured time. And while the books only touch on academic sabbaticals in passing, they do land on the idea of being realistic about what can be accomplished, and learning to think about your leave in terms of short-term and long-term goals. The book that I found most impactful with respect to time management for academic researchers was Cal Newport’s Deep Work: Rules For Focused Success In A Distracted World. I returned to this text several times over the past year, and recommend Newport’s many tips and suggestions for blocking out intensive periods of work, followed by time for fun and reflection. As I blogged earlier this year about the book, Newport distinguishes his approach by discussing strategies that are not only geared to finding the time to accomplish goals and build routine and structure into one's life, but also focused on helping harness the mental state of deep focus, concentration, and flow, that drives creativity and productivity. 

2. CREATE A ROUTINE

This little productivity planner was essential to tracking how I was using my day-to-day time and reflecting on the big picture of my weekly routines. Together with Google Calendar (on all of my devices), I was set for the year.

Building structure and predictability into your day is much easier than it sounds. When you have a regular job, deadlines, and obligations to others that are absolutely non-negotiable, the structure and routine emerge out of necessity. At the other extreme, staring at a blank calendar for twelve months is incredibly daunting, and the only thing I can compare it to is the final years of my Ph.D. when it was left entirely up to me to produce a book-length dissertation. After many weeks of reveling in the freedom of unsupervised time, I realized that I would have to build in a system of time management to accomplish the big goals I was expected to achieve. A similar situation quickly emerged with the sabbatical. I had submitted a proposal promising several items— a co-edited book collection, the placement of new publications, research for travel, conferences, and new projects, and planning for new courses and a textbook. Any one of these items could send me down a rabbit hole in terms of time, and so I decided to divide out my twelve months into smaller chunks of time comprising weeks and then days where I would focus only on one of the above projects. At the end of each week and each month, I would assess what I had accomplished and how well my expectations were being met. Often, I would under or overestimate the time I was using and adjust accordingly. At the level of weekdays, I ended up scheduling 4-5 hours daily on uninterrupted and undistracted work (Deep Work helped me achieve this), and made sure to build a routine that included time for breaks, reflection, downtime, and of course, the time to do the things I could not possibly accomplish in a regular year at work. Using Google Calendar, Evernote, and the Productivity Planner, I also learned to honour my schedule and start and stop my scheduled tasks however immersed I was (more on the importance of this later in PART TWO of the post) or however much I wanted to procrastinate (more on this too later).

3. SCHEDULE IN BUCKET LIST PROJECTS/GOALS

For most people, the special significance of the sabbatical is the freedom to do an entire range of things that you normally would not have the time, space, or means to achieve. These are all of those bucket list projects and goals that you always say you would do “if I had the time.” For me, travel is at the very top of that list, and I spent many weeks ahead of my leave scheduling trips that would both support my research and allow for extended visits to places I had always wanted to see. In the end, I traveled over my sabbatical to many art cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Rome, Florence, and Barcelona. I also made sure to schedule vacation time both locally and abroad to recharge outside of the fast-paced itineraries of the big city visits. My bucket list also included taking time to draw and make art, and so I scheduled several hours a week to sit with my sketchbook, charcoal, pencils, and other materials, and made sketching a big part of my travels. Another bucket list item was to plan several motorbiking day trips with my husband, and we rented motorbikes abroad to continue exploring the hobby that I hope will have me fully licensed by next year. In the end, committing to your bucket list is a critical part of the sabbatical year. Making a list of hobbies, trips, projects, plans, etc… is something we should always be doing, and I have learned this year that it is vital to schedule time every week so that your bucket list, in whatever small way, can be realized little by little.

4. BE PREPARED FOR THE UNEXPECTED

With all my talk of planning, schedules, and routine, it is critical to remember that all of your preparation can be side-lined with the unexpected. In my case, that unexpected moment came two days into my sabbatical when my husband suffered a bicycle accident that had him laid up at home for four months. Suddenly, all of my plans for solitary work, research, and reflection, were replaced with the duties of nursing and caring for an injured spouse. At first, this was an incredibly difficult situation, but within a few weeks, I learned to embrace the new challenges I was facing and established new routines and goals for my sabbatical. The upside to this was that I learned how to become flexible with my schedule and prioritize what was truly pressing and most important. And while this example is more extreme (and yes, thankfully, my husband is mostly recovered and back to work), the unexpected may arise in the form of other people not meeting deadlines or rescheduling as a result of their own unexpected life events. Planning for and expecting these moments is key, and I have learned to roll with what comes my way, knowing that any tendency for perfectionism has to go out the window if you want to actually achieve your goals. In hindsight we all learn that we can get through and survive the many challenges and setbacks life throws at us. Learning what is and what is not in your control was one of the biggest lessons I learned this year.

5. PLAN FOR YOUR PHYSICAL GOALS

One of the most important goals I set out for the year, above and beyond my professional projects, was the desire for increased energy and physical health to support my busy academic schedule. This came down to one of the toughest decisions I made— scheduling dedicated time every day for exercise, with a goal of building muscle, reducing fat, and finding a healthy weight that I could maintain over the long haul. Since becoming a full time faculty member, the time I used to commit to exercise and sleep were slowly eroded and taken over by time to complete grading, research, and other day-to-day errands that I felt were more important. In hindsight, I realize how short-sighted I had become— not prioritizing my health— and with a recent health scare in my past, I knew that this was one goal I had no excuse not to pursue during my leave. Early into the sabbatical, I returned to my love of weight lifting (a hobby I had enjoyed off and on since my late teens) and running. I also adopted a very sensible calories in, calories out diet that had me eating three meals a day with no snacks at a moderate deficit. Having dabbled in some extreme veganism and other restrictive dieting in the past, I knew that whatever eating plan I chose had to be realistic and, most critically, sustainable when I returned to work. I also made sure to sleep 7-8 hours a night and schedule naps whenever possible. I gave myself a year to achieve the goal of losing forty pounds and cutting my body fat percentage down to the mid-20% range, and I am very happy to report that not only did I meet this goal early (in 10 months, see before and after progress pictures below), but I have gone on to exceed my original plans. Bottom line, I want to emphasize that the best outcome of this fitness journey was the ENERGY that I was able to gain. While the aesthetics of losing weight are fantastic, the ability to feel better in my own skin and feel more in control of my weight and health is one of the best gifts of the past twelve months.

That wraps up PART ONE, I will go on to discuss the final five lessons later this week in PART TWO of my post…..

Courses for Fall 2018: Topics in Art & Fashion, Urban Screen Culture, Film Studies, and 19th Century Art

As registration for the Fall 2018 academic semester begins soon, I wanted to provide more information about courses I will begin teaching starting September, 2018. Please see detailed descriptions below. If you have any specific questions that are not answered here, you can contact me directly. I look forward to another rich and engaging semester with both new and familiar faces. **NOTE: Pre-requisite changes for ARTH 3100 allow for more flexibility in registration for non-Fine Arts students**

ARTH 3100: ART AND FASHION

Kwantlen Polytechnic University (Wednesday's 7:00-9:50pm, Surrey Campus Fir 120). Prerequisites: 6 credits of ARTH or 18 credits of 1100-level courses or higher, and ENGL 1100, or permission of Instructor.

How does the world of art intersect with the world of fashion? Where are the real and imagined dividing lines, and why do they exist? Fashion designers like visual artists are curious about shape, line, colour, and form, and they all construct imagined worlds through creative expression to share with an audience. Spanning several eras and contexts and covering a range of artists, designers, and mediums, including a close look at recent art and fashion exhibitions held in world class museums, this course will unpack how and why the systems that define the world of art and fashion overlap and at times conflict.

*note* ARTH 3100 is being offered in anticipation of the FINE ARTS LONDON/VENICE BIENNALE 2019 Field School planned for May/June 2019. This course is a fantastic accompaniment to the itinerary and themes of the field school focused on the transformation of modern and contemporary art in connection to consumer culture, lifestyle branding, and the rise of the celebrity artist/designer.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course provides an introduction to the complex ways in which the world of fashion and the world of art intersect, focusing mainly on developments from the 19th through 21st century and the visual cultures of Europe and North America more specifically. Emphasis will be placed on the transformation of modern and contemporary art in connection to shifting trends in fashion, fashion design, and fashion exhibition/marketing, taking a closer look at how changes in political ideology, industrialization, rapid urban growth, global commerce, and the new media technologies of an expanding consumer culture helped redefine a wide range of overlapping visual culture. Throughout the term we will examine different “case studies” of specific designers and artists and their collaborations, exploring how and why the dividing lines between art and fashion are policed, but also at times transgressed.

Importantly, this seminar will also consider, within the context of raising questions about fashion as art, the constructed nature of the discipline of art history, challenging assumptions, both historical and contemporary, regarding the nature of art, its relation to different cultural, social, political, and commercial institutions, and issues of patronage and viewing publics.

ARTH 1130: INTRODUCTION TO FILM STUDIES

The evolving role of Hollywood studios and the emergence of the movie sequels/prequels and franchise film phenomenon is just one of many topics explored in this course. 

Kwantlen Polytechnic University (Friday's 1:00-4:50pm, Surrey Campus Fir 128). Prerequisites: None

The ever popular film studies course is continuing to evolve and update to consider recent developments in the film industry, together with new research that links histories of cinema's past to its present. This is a course that will have you thinking critically about motion pictures long after the final exam-- it also provides an opportunity to visit and see films at the Vancouver International Film Festival (September 27- October 12). 

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Students will study the history and development of world cinema, and the comprehension and theory of film as a visual language and art-making practice from its inception in the late nineteenth century to the present. The goal of the course is to introduce students to the critical interpretation of the cinema and the various vocabularies and methods with which one can explore the aesthetic function, together with the social, political, and technological contexts and developments, of moving pictures. The format of this course (as a 4 hour block each class) will normally entail a one hour lecture, the screening of a full-length film, and a focused group discussion. Each film will serve as a starting point and gateway for discussion about the course’s daily theme. 

ARTH 1140: INTRODUCTION TO VISUAL ART, URBAN, AND SCREEN CULTURE

This course will explore case studies in street and graffiti art, hip-hop and punk culture, video gaming, anime, new media and Internet art, urban performance art, activist art, grassroots fashion, street photography, and the world of mobile photography and filmmaking.

Kwantlen Polytechnic University (Wednesday's 4:00-6:50pm, Surrey Campus Fir 128). Prerequisites: None

Formulated to compliment ARTH 1130: Introduction to Film Studies, this course extends the conversation about screen culture to the world of urban studies and public art. We begin with the question "How do we navigate and make sense of the fast-changing world of new urban visual environments and the emerging world of screen culture?" and explore case studies in street and graffiti art, hip-hop and punk culture, video gaming, anime, new media and Internet art, urban performance art, activist art, grassroots fashion, street photography, and the world of mobile photography and filmmaking.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Students will study the broad field of contemporary visual art and culture with a specific focus on the role of urban environments and the emerging world of screen culture in shaping new possibilities for global art production and circulation. Students will explore how they can become active agents rather than passive observers through engagement with the diversity of visual art and culture surrounding them. They will investigate interdisciplinary topics connecting the world of visual art with urban and screen cultures through case studies in street and graffiti art, hip-hop and punk culture, video gaming, anime, new media and Internet art, urban performance art, activist art, grassroots fashion, street photography, and the world of mobile photography and filmmaking.

CA 167: VISUAL ART & CULTURE I

Why did Beyonce choose this particular painting at the Louvre (Jacques Louis David's The Coronation of Napoleon (1805-07) to feature in a recent music video? How do the themes and issues evoked in this work of art resonate with us today? Find out when you study the art history of the 19th century in CA 167. 

Simon Fraser University (Thursdays 6:30-9:20pm, Vancouver Harbour Centre Campus 1700). No Prerequisites.

Offered as a core required course in SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts, CA 167 offers an introduction the visual arts of the nineteenth century, with a critical focus on the roots of modernism and the avant-garde. If you have ever wondered how Western art evolved from its more traditional, Renaissance roots to the challenging and at times difficult-to-understand contemporary art of today, this is the course that holds many of your answers.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course provides an introduction to the complex ways in which social and political change, and ideologies of gender, class, race and ethnicity, worked to shape aspects of nineteenth century visual culture in Europe and North America. Emphasis will be placed on the roles played by industrialization, political revolution, rapid urban growth, global commerce, and the new media technologies of an expanding consumer culture in defining a wide range of visual culture. Throughout the term we will also examine different representations and debates around the idea of modernity and the “modern.” Since the time period under investigation has often been called “The First Modern Century”, we will pay particular attention to shifting ideas related to labour and leisure, urban social space and spectacle, and issues bearing on Euro-American expansion of empires in relation to indigenous populations, throughout the nineteenth  century to turn of the twentieth century up to WWI.

Weekly Flipboard Links and Media Round Up

It was a big week for art history with the surprise release of Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s "Apeshit"-- a song and accompanying video that set the Louvre Museum centre stage. Within days of the video's release, my social media feeds were filled with commentary and discussion. I was immediately struck by Beyoncé's decision to feature so many Jacques Louis David paintings-- works of art tied to the French Revolution and Napoleonic era that I spend countless classes covering in both survey and upper level seminar art history courses. The large dance number in front of Coronation of Napoleon (1807) was especially brilliant in terms of meaning-making and rethinking the role of women in canonical painting. David had reimagined the piece with Napoleon's wife,  Josephine, being crowned by him as the focus of the composition. This act, at the central point of the painting where Beyoncé herself is positioned, is witnessed by all of the surrounding figures (all privileged white upper class people). The "lie" of the painting, however, is that the coronation of Napoleon was illegitimate. He had seized power from the church to make himself king (thereby coronating himself), stealing power without authority. This extends to the representation shown in the painting-- Josephine's sisters, for example, did not attend the event, but David put them in there anyways much to the chagrin of Jospehine and her family ("fake news" early 19th century style). Later, Josephine would divorce Napoleon and expose his deception. In this way, we also see Beyonce and her dancers stealing back meaning and authority for this work. She is the rightful queen, and the fact of this painting's lie is once again exposed. 

Another compelling David work featured in the video is the of portrait of Madame Récamier from 1800. The reclining aristocratic French woman is juxtaposed with two black dancers posing as maid servants just off frame-- a reminder of the invisible labour and lack of representation for the majority of people (across race and class) who existed within this society, and have in art's long history been denied serious attention. Later in the video, Jay Z will rap in front of Gericault's Raft of the Medusa (1818-19), a strategic reference to the colonialism and slavery that is for the first time represented on a monumental scale in this painting, and for that same privileged audience who refused to "see" this group only a decade earlier. Here, the direct correlation to hip-hop music, as a subculture and artistic revolution rooted in street and minority references is profound. I could go on and on.... In fact, so much good criticism and reflections was already written by mid-week, I did not feel compelled to add much more. This alone is a wonderful sign of how impactful the video was and is-- that, and the successful way Beyoncé and Jay-Z bridge notions of "high" and "low" art. Yes, it is a music video, and yes, there are much more urgent issues to address for more serious artists, but it is important to remember that popular visual culture, the "kitsch" that the Nazis, for example, at once despised and feared so much, is precisely the entry point for subversive content into the mainstream. Seeing black bodies essentially pulling off a carefully choreographed "heist" of the Louvre's elitist and limited gaze is critical and significant. There will be much discomfort in these images, and that is the point. All praise Queen B. Enjoy the links and have a great week!

"The Simple Art Historian’s Guide to Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s ‘Apeshit’ Video"

vulture.com

"Is Art School Only For the Young?"

artsy.net

"20 Curators Taking a Cutting-Edge Approach to Art History"

artsy.net

"A Very Queer Street Art Movement Is Spreading Across the US"

hyperallergic.com

"This Artist Foresaw Our Digital Future in a Meadow of Dandelions"

nytimes.com

"Jean-Michel Basquiat Is Still an Enigma"

theatlantic.com

"Will the Retail Apocalypse Be Good for the Arts?"

vulture.com

"Artist collective tackles 'disappearing kids' under US immigration policy"

theartnewspaper.com

"Giacometti at the Guggenheim Museum (VIDEO)"

guggenheim

Meet the Sobey 2018 artist nominee whose neon Cree signs are getting glowing reviews (PODCAST)"

cbc.ca

• The Simple Art Historian’s Guide to Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s ‘Apeshit’ Video
• Is Art School Only For the Young?
• 20 Curators Taking a Cutting-Edge Approach to Art History
• A Very Queer Street Art Movement Is Spreading Across the US
• This Artist Foresaw Our Digital Future in a Meadow of Dandelions
• Jean-Michel Basquiat Is Still an Enigma
• Will the Retail Apocalypse Be Good for the Arts?
• Artist collective tackles 'disappearing kids' under US immigration policy
• Giacometti at the Guggenheim Museum (VIDEO)
• Meet the Sobey 2018 artist nominee whose neon Cree signs are getting glowing reviews (PODCAST)

Weekly Flipboard Links and Media Round Up

I am on a big deadline, but wanted to make sure to post a roundup as so much has been happening this past week. Anthony Bourdain's passing, just within days of designer Kate Spade, was especially shocking and deeply resonant on a personal level as I was working on the final draft introduction to an edited book concerning Canadian culinary imaginations-- a project I have been co-editing and working on with Shelley Boyd for the past two years. I had just completed writing a detailed vignette describing Bourdain's recent visit to Newfoundland and its significance to Canadian identity politics. Repeatedly watching and transcribing that episode just hours before learning of his death, I was struck and heartened in the hours and days following the news to see so many people immediately recognize the importance of his legacy beyond celebrity chef stardom. Bourdain understood how food could bridge cultural and political divides, encouraging people to travel and move beyond their comfort zones and break down barriers through the simple act of trying a new cuisine or learning about another culture through their culinary history. Bourdain was also a connoisseur of film, literature, music, and art. His commentary on food was always intersecting with ideas related to the arts, and  I am so glad that his voice will be captured in our book, a project harnessing so many important themes related to food and culture that Bourdain popularized and made more accessible through his television appearances.  Sadly, mental illness (and suicide) is far too common among creative, risk-taking, individuals. We must all do better to keep our eyes open and remain compassionate and alert to those in pain. Peace.... and enjoy the links.

"What Will Art Look Like in 100 Years? We Asked 16 Contemporary Artists "

artnet.com

"Instagram design guide shows architects how to create "a visual sense of amazement""

dezeen.com

"How Art Museums Can Remain Relevant in the 21st Century"

artsy.net

" Just Write 500 Words"

thecut.com

"Linda Nochlin’s Lifetime Insights Continue to Amaze"

hyperallergic.com

"It Can Happen Here"

nybooks.com

"Japanese Gutai in the 1950s: Fast and Fearless"

nytimes.com

"We, the tenured, must commit to making the university a better place"

universityaffairs.com

"A study on the financial state of visual artists today"

thecreativeindependent.com

"Art Basel 2018 (VIDEO)"

• What Will Art Look Like in 100 Years? We Asked 16 Contemporary Artists
• Instagram design guide shows architects how to create "a visual sense of amazement"
• How Art Museums Can Remain Relevant in the 21st Century
•  Just Write 500 Words
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