This past week the art world lost Carolee Schneemann, a true avant-garde legend and artist provocateur, at the age of 79. Schneemann has long been featured prominently in all of my modern and contemporary art history courses as an artist who both experimented in multiple media forms, but also never quite fit comfortably in her role as a “performance” or a “feminist” artist. In fact, it has only really been in the last decade and a half or so that the mainstream of the art world has fully recognized Schneemann’s importance in bridging the world of painting, installation, and body art. Perhaps more significantly, Schneemann’s art has long confronted issues related to women’s pleasure and sexuality in novel and subversive ways, and not always comfortably or without controversy. She will be missed.

Also included in my round up this week are reactions to the television debut of Leaving Neverland, the HBO co-produced film by director Dan Reed. Having first heard of the movie as a Sundance Film Festival feature, I looked forward to watching it both for its narrative choices and cinematography (both of which have proved very controversial). I include a great article and podcast exploring many dimensions of the movie— both at the level of what is examined, but also how the film is put together formally. As a Gen-Xer I was also very sad to hear of the passing of Luke Perry of 90210 teen drama fame. Who could forget the enigmatic Dylan McKay? At the same time, I was made aware this week of the 25th anniversary of another Gen X classic—Reality Bites. Completing my roundup is a look at L.A.’s first art fair from a few weeks ago; a review of a Marina Abramovic mockumentary (!); a great TateShots video of the Guerilla Girls (Happy International Women’s Day!); a Dior tribute video to coincide with a new exhibition opening in London at the Victoria and Albert Museum celebrating the designer’s legacy and influence; and a compelling interview with Jiang Xue, an investigative journalist living and working in China who is enduring the latest crackdown on civil society and independent thinking in her country.

Enjoy the links and cross your fingers that spring is actually coming! You can access by browsing the image thumbnails in the gallery below and clicking on what interests you, or scrolling to the bottom of the page and selecting the easy links.