Weekly Flipboard Links and Media Round Up

As the snow (yes SNOW) began to fall around the city this weekend, I spent some time catching up on the list of film and television shows that I have had on my radar or PVR. First, I have been a huge fan of HBOs drama series The Deuce telling the story of the rise of NYC's porn industry-- especially as I was sad to see the cancellation of its other 1970s-setting series Vinyl last year-- and have enjoyed watching the multiple and complex narrative unfold over its first eight episodes. I have blogged a lot (too much!) about James Franco and his art world ambitions in the past, but I must say that he does a fantastic and very convincing job playing two roles in the series (as twins Vincent and Frankie Martino), and Maggie Gyllenhaal is incredible playing street prostitute turned early pornography director/entrepreneur Candy Merrell. The finale episode just aired, and if you have not yet seen this very path-breaking series, I highly recommend binge watching immediately.

Second, I was able to catch a screening of Blade Runner 2049 in theatre, and all I can say is WOW!! I was not at all expecting to enjoy the sequel to one of my very favourite films of the futurist action genre as much as I did, but director Denis Villeneuve essentially channels the best of Ridley Scott's vision, and the pace, look, feel, and even sound design of the movie is kept true to the original. Rarely if ever do sequels measure up in this way, and so again, I highly recommend experiencing this film on the big screen. And finally, I am about halfway through Alias Grace, the CBC-Netflix adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel by the same name. Not only am I enjoying the plot and narrative of the series in terms of how it is adapted from the novel, but it is impossible not to see the critical parallels of the series' themes concerning women's struggles and socio-economic systems that shape their lives past, present, and fututre (as with The Handmaid's Tale). I cannot wait to finish it up tonight! Enjoy the rest of your Sunday evening-- I hope you get to enjoy some of your screen favourites too-- and enjoy the links!

"Over 1,800 Artists and Art Workers Sign Letter Against Sexual Harassment"

hyperallergic.com

"We Broke Down ArtReview’s Power 100 by Race, Gender, Profession, and Place of Birth"

artsy.net

"Richard Hambleton, ‘Shadowman’ of the ’80s Art Scene, Dies at 65"

nytimes.com

"After ‘Hope,’ and Lawsuit, Shepard Fairey Tries Damage Control"

nytimes.com

"How universities can cultivate creativity in their students"

timeshighereducation.com

"The Deuce Is a Hard Show to Watch, But It’s Also Hard to Look Away"

vulture.com

"Kara Walker’s Black Lives Matter"

nybooks.com

"The Surprising Revolt at the Most Liberal College in the Country"

theatlantic.com

"Ilya and Emilia Kabakov – ‘The Viewer is the Same as the Artist’ | TateShots (VIDEO)"

tate.com

"Tala Madani: Sketchbooks | Art21 "Extended Play" (VIDEO)"

art21.com

• We Broke Down ArtReview’s Power 100 by Race, Gender, Profession, and Place of Birth
• Richard Hambleton, ‘Shadowman’ of the ’80s Art Scene, Dies at 65
• After ‘Hope,’ and Lawsuit, Shepard Fairey Tries Damage Control
• Over 1,800 Artists and Art Workers Sign Letter Against Sexual Harassment
• How universities can cultivate creativity in their students
• The Deuce Is a Hard Show to Watch, But It’s Also Hard to Look Away
• Kara Walker’s Black Lives Matter
• The Surprising Revolt at the Most Liberal College in the Country
• Ilya and Emilia Kabakov – ‘The Viewer is the Same as the Artist’ | TateShots (VIDEO)
• Tala Madani: Sketchbooks | Art21 "Extended Play" (VIDEO)

Focus on Research| How (And Why) To Take Excellent Lecture Notes

Once upon a time, before the Internet, the laptop computer, and digital recording devices, students’ lives depended upon their ability to take excellent handwritten class notes. Without them, there was very little chance of doing well in a course, especially as it was much more difficult to access lecture information in a much reduced information economy. I still remember the panic when I was a senior in high school and lost my history notes in the days before an important provincial exam. Trying to locate friends on short notice who could lend me their notes was quite the task, while attempting to re-learn the material from the few books to which I had access proved both stressful and laborious.

Since that time, and with the advent of new technologies, I have experimented as a student and researcher with note-taking and have also watched successive generations of students navigate the important task in my courses. Whether taking notes on a laptop, recording them on a phone, using apps and various software platforms to organize ideas and images, or even forgoing note-taking and writing the big ideas following a class, I have seen and also tried almost every method of recording and recalling class lectures and seminars. But what I have learned and observed through trial and error (and now backed up by studies—more on that later) is that the essence and methodology of traditional handwritten note-taking remains the gold standard and, more importantly, is proven to be the most successful way to record and retain information communicated in a classroom.

Taking notes by hand takes account of an entirely different set of kinetic actions than typing on a computer. Don't believe me? Try brainstorming or conceptualizing an idea using only a keyboard and see how limited your possibilities for expression are. 

But Why Take Notes In the First Place?

Now before I pass along some tips and methods to produce good class notes, I realize that I have to back up here and remind many students why taking notes is important in the first place. In the past several years, I have noticed fewer and fewer students actively taking the time to record anything in class. This alone is very alarming when considering that the core of exams and assignments rely upon ideas first introduced in lecture. And when I have asked students why they neglect to take notes, I often get some combination of response that suggests they could “look up the idea later on the Internet,” that they could have a friend text or email them their notes if they felt they needed them, or that the textbook/readings were enough to consider when studying.

Clearly, this is a problem, and especially so when considering why good note-taking is so vitally important. Consider these six key reasons as outlined by Stanford University’s note-taking skills workshop:

1. Notes trigger memories of lecture/reading

Taking notes and reviewing them later acts as trigger for a great deal more information, analysis, and context than is even recorded. This is also why using someone else’s notes is often useless and not as valuable as making your own associations and synthesis of ideas in the form of personalized notes.

2. Your notes are often a source of valuable clues for what information the Instructor thinks is most important (i.e., what will show up on the next test).

Remember that when your professor is formulating exams, they rely upon their own class notes and/or ideas raised in class to build questions and potential themes. In my case, I will go as far as to say “write this down” to prompt students to record ideas I already know they will likely be tested on. If you don't record these ideas, you are at a huge disadvantage when later tested.

3. Notes inscribe information kinesthetically (relating to or resulting from bodily motion)

This point should almost come first. The act of directly recording ideas from your active brain to handwritten expression is one of the most key, albeit mysterious, aspects of successful note-taking. Just think of all of the quick free association, scribbles, doodles, arrows, and other mark-making techniques you use when brainstorming or conceptualizing concepts on paper that are not at all intuitive or quickly possible via a computer. Even having experimented with note-taking on an iPad using an Apple pencil, there is still something missing from the primal act of moving your hand across a page.

4. Taking notes helps you to concentrate in class

Distraction is the disease of our times, and multi-tasking is essentially a late capitalist myth. I cannot tell you how often I have found myself unintentionally surfing or checking email when using a computer to take notes in a meeting only to realize I have no real sense of what is being discussed. Now imagine how much is potentially missed in an important classroom discussion. Simply put, active listening and comprehension requires your full attention, and taking notes centers your attention squarely on what you are hearing.

5. Notes create a resource for test preparation

This should be obvious, and even more so as you move into upper levels of academia. Yes, you can read the textbook and attempt to figure out what you will need to study using the syllabus, but if you actually calculated the time, effort, and stress needed to prepare for an exam without notes, you would soon realize that note-taking is actually the best investment in both your time and your sanity.

6. Your notes often contain information that cannot be found elsewhere (i.e., in your textbook).

This. Every professor plans the scope of a course to include information, ideas, and analysis that are either from their own original research and/or not included in the assigned textbook and readings. These are often ideas that cannot be found anywhere else, and certainly not via a simple Internet search. 

Another Basquiat notebook-- he was most fond of the kinds of everyday composition notebooks used in school. This is a reminder not to overthink the note-taking process. Just start and use your handwritten expression and preferences to guide you. 

Ditch Your Computer and Stick to Handwriting For Higher Grades

So the bottom line is this: to take excellent class notes, you have to return to basics (paper and pen) and stop relying on technology. This has been a tough admission even for me to make as I count myself among the early adopters of new technologies. But if you aren’t yet convinced, consider this new study that was recently published in the Economics of Education Review this past April, 2017. The authors of the study analyzed the grades of 5600 students at an American liberal arts university and concluded that laptops appeared to harm the grades of students. As one review of the study summarized: “While the authors were unable to definitively say why laptop use caused a “significant negative effect in grades”, the authors believe that classroom “cyber-slacking” plays a major role in lower achievement, with wi-fi-enabled computers providing numerous distractions for students. “Students believe that laptops will improve their productivity but the opposite occurs,” Richard Patterson told Times Higher Education. He explained that this was “either due to the superiority of pen and paper, the unforeseen influence of distractions, or some other unseen factor.”

Create a Note-Taking Method and Stick With It

So now that we have reviewed why to take notes and why handwritten note-taking is best, we can turn to some methods. When it comes to note-taking, there are many approaches, but I believe that the one that will be most successful is the one that you will most consistently use. No need to overthink it, just work with your own instincts and preferences.

For example, in my own note-taking method, I tend to use star symbols (*) to indicate in my notes when a very important idea is being conveyed or summarized. I don’t tend to have more than a few of these is any set of notes. I indent and use numbers when creating lists of ideas or noting examples raised in discussion. I also make sure to underline all of the titles of works and add dates and a mini timeline on the left-hand side of my notes when taking notes that cover a chronology. Another thing I like to use are arrows and various shapes and scribbles to reinforce an idea in a way that makes sense to my visually driven memory. Finally, I often use a big Q symbol to record questions that arise for me when learning new material. This has also been useful when I wanted to raise an idea later in class discussion or office hours.

The Cornell Note-Taking Method is an oldie but a goodie. 

The note-taking method I evolved for myself has also drawn on elements of the Cornell Note-Taking Method that was taught to me in high school.  The technique of dividing lined note paper into three sections: 1) concept 2) notes 3) relationship is one that I still largely follow. The advantage of this technique is that you can leave the “relationship” part of the notes blank and then practice the habit of reviewing your notes periodically to figure out what bigger ideas you have learned in a particular lecture. I have also found that leaving this part of the note-taking method for later allows you to digest and add in ideas that may have been triggered in textbook readings that support the lecture.  

If you find this note-taking method to your liking, you can even download and print a customized Cornell Note-Taking template here and have on hand for your classes.

So there we have it, something old appears to be new again in academia. Go forward and make sure to take handwritten notes!

Weekly Flipboard Links and Media Round Up

As a kid, Halloween for me equaled Christmas in terms of excitement. It wasn't just the candy (although walking up to strangers' homes and getting free stuff was pretty exhilarating), it was the act of performance and of freedom, getting to become someone or something else for an evening. Looking back now, I see how important that childhood rite of passage was, especially for those of us wanting to try on, and express, very different facets of our deepest selves. It is like a collective act of performance art one day every year. As I write this, I am also learning of the passing of one of the great icons of modern art history-- Linda Nochlin. Nochlin was one of the most influential art historians of the late twentieth century, authoring important books, articles, and courses examining and questioning the institutional and societal structures that elevate male artists above their female counterparts. She was a true rockstar to the generation of art historians I graduated with, and her pathbreaking ideas will continue to live on in the reading lists and research of practicing art historians around the world. Enjoy the links and have a safe and happy Halloween!

"The Artsy Podcast, No. 53: Is the Art Market Irrational? (PODCAST)"

artsy.net

"The Radical Paintings of Laura Owens"

newyorker.com

"Claes Oldenburg Is (Still) Changing What Art Looks Like"

nytimes.com

"Architects Are Suffering From “Originality Syndrome”"

dezeen.com

"From Liberal Arts to Making a Living"

chronicle.com

"Curator Nato Thompson on Politics and the State of Social Practice Art"

hyperallergic.com

"Women Accuse Knight Landesman, Art World Mainstay, of Sexual Harassment"

nytimes.com

"Harvey Weinstein and the Economics of Consent"

theatlantic.com

"How to Teach Your Children to Care about Art"

artsy.net

"Linda Nochlin, Trailblazing Feminist Art Historian, Dies at 86"

artnews.com

• The Artsy Podcast, No. 53: Is the Art Market Irrational? (PODCAST)
• The Radical Paintings of Laura Owens
• Claes Oldenburg Is (Still) Changing What Art Looks Like
• Architects Are Suffering From “Originality Syndrome”
• From Liberal Arts to Making a Living
• Curator Nato Thompson on Politics and the State of Social Practice Art
• Women Accuse Knight Landesman, Art World Mainstay, of Sexual Harassment
• Harvey Weinstein and the Economics of Consent
• How to Teach Your Children to Care about Art
• Linda Nochlin, Trailblazing Feminist Art Historian, Dies at 86

Weekly Flipboard Links and Media Round Up

After a very wet and cold week, the sun decided to come out today and reveal the beautiful fall colours that signal autumn's full arrival. I have been marveling at all of the gorgeous images and photographs circulating on my media feeds and am reminded of so many of the striking autumnal scenes that show up in my landscape lectures when teaching Canadian and American art history. I found this great Pinterest board of many modern and contemporary autumnal landscapes that sent me down a rabbit hole today, and I invite you to take a look and enjoy. Another theme I noted this week were allusions to the impact of social media and technological design on the world of art and visual culture-- you will note that I have links discussing Facebook, Instagram, Apple, and emojis this week, all of which spark compelling ideas that should be of interest to many creatives. Happy reading, and take some time to stop and enjoy the fall colours around you this week! 

"What Steve Jobs Learned from the Bauhaus"

artsy.net

"How Instagram Helped Discover One of This Year’s Breakout Movie Stars"

wired.com

"“Oh My God, What Have I Done?”: Some Early Facebook Employees Regret the Monster They Created"

vanityfair.com

"Duchamp’s Last Riddle"

theparisreview.otg

"The Turd of Gentrification Floating in the Pond of Urbanism (PODCAST)"

podbean.com

"Why the Obamas’ Portrait Choices Matter"

nytimes.com

"Universities unite against the academic black market"

universityaffairs.com

"Designing a 21st Century Biker Jacket – with Asher Levine | FASHION AS DESIGN (VIDEO)"

moma.com

"The conservator's eye: Madame Cézanne in the Conservatory (VIDEO)"

smarthistory.com

"Wouldn't It Be Nice to Have a Woman's Shoe Emoji That Isn't a Red Stiletto?"

atlantic.com

• What Steve Jobs Learned from the Bauhaus
• How Instagram Helped Discover One of This Year’s Breakout Movie Stars
• “Oh My God, What Have I Done?”: Some Early Facebook Employees Regret the Monster They Created
• Duchamp’s Last Riddle
• The Turd of Gentrification Floating in the Pond of Urbanism (PODCAST)
• Why the Obamas’ Portrait Choices Matter
• Universities unite against the academic black market
• Designing a 21st Century Biker Jacket – with Asher Levine | FASHION AS DESIGN (VIDEO)
• The conservator's eye: Madame Cézanne in the Conservatory (VIDEO)
• Wouldn't It Be Nice to Have a Woman's Shoe Emoji That Isn't a Red Stiletto?

Top 10 Modern and Contemporary Exhibitions Worth Visiting In Fall/Winter 2017

Traveling for the love of art is something I highly recommend. Nothing fills me with more giddy anticipation than researching art exhibitions and gallery openings in places I have travel plans, or even better, planning an entire trip around the art shows I want to see. This fall and winter is especially rich and provides some fantastic chances to see and experience visual art and culture near and far. Listed below are ten modern and contemporary exhibitions I believe are worth planning some travel around. It was a tough job condensing my choices to ten this season, as there are many many more worth checking out. But for those of you wanting to research further and set up both real and fantasy travel itineraries, I recommend both a subscription to ArtForum and their artguide app for quick access to hundreds of art cities around the world and the dates and places where one can see fantastic art shows.

Items: Is Fashion Modern?

Museum of Modern Art, New York: Currently- January 28, 2018

This fall and winter, it is all about New York for me. This is certainly not unusual as NYC is the centre of the art world, but I have seldom found so many shows that I am excited to see all at once in one art season. MoMA has especially been hitting it out of the park for me as of late, and the first show I am planning to visit when I land in New York over the Christmas holidays is the fashion exhibition that poses the provocative question: Is Fashion Modern? I have been watching some of the great videos and talks that have been generated by the show already. At the heart of the exhibition are 111 garments and accessories that have had a strong impact on recent history and society, and which still hold value today. What I think this exhibition will also finally do is what I have hoped the Met Costume Institute shows of the past would do more of -- properly contextualize fashion's relationship to both art and modernism.  

Asking the simple yet provocative question "Is fashion modern?," this exhibition at MoMA is one of the first comprehensive shows to tackle the intersection of fashion and art.

Carolee Schneemann: Kinetic Painting

MoMA PS1, New York: October 22- March 11, 2018

Anyone studying contemporary art history with me will be introduced to a very in-depth study of Carolee Schneemann. She is an artist that I not only include in my lectures to help bridge discourses of painting and performance art in the 1960's, but Schneemann is also one of those difficult to categorize artists who has continued to provoke the art world to the present day with her wide varying projects that examine ideas around the female body, gender, sexuality, and the politics of seeing. I couldn't believe this was listed as the first comprehensive retrospective of Schneemann's art practice, so I am delighted that New York's MoMA PS1 will play host to what will surely be one of the more memorable retrospectives of this season. 

Carolee Schneemann, Eye Body: 36 Transformative Actions for Camera (1963).

Club 57: Film, Performance, and Art in the East Village, 1978-1983

Museum of Modern Art, New York: October 31- April 1, 2018

Back again at MoMA, I am probably most anticipating this interdisciplinary exhibition spanning art, film, performance, theatre, photography, zines, and fashion looking at the creative center of New York's East Village in the late 1970s to 1980s. Having most recently seen several VIFF films that focus on this particular era of New York, but also teaching a new course on urban visual art and culture that locates so many pivotal historical moments in the development of street art, music, fashion, and alternative culture to the East Village, I am not only looking forward to seeing this show, but also to finding new connections to enhance my lectures and help students understand the vital legacy of this place and time.

Acts of Live Art at Club 57. Pictured: Larry Ashton. 1980. Photo: Joesph Szkodzinski. 

Art and China after 1989: Theatre of the World

Guggenheim Museum, New York: October 6- January 7, 2018

Among the most buzzed about shows this year is the Art and China after 1989 exhibition at the Guggenheim. As the largest exhibition of art by contemporary Chinese-born artists ever mounted in North America, the event has already been met with controversy and much discussion around the 1989 date that was chosen in direct reference to the Tiananmen Square protests that occurred in the same year as the fall of the Berlin Wall in Europe. As I will be embarking on my first trip to Asia next spring (to China, Korea, and Japan over several weeks), I am looking forward to learning more about the diversity of contemporary Chinese artists and the themes/histories that drive their practice. Of course I do not expect that much of what I will see in NYC will be represented on the ground (especially in China) in quite the same way, so this show will serve as an important foundation in my understanding about recent Asian art.

Interior photograph of Guggenheim show Art and China after 1989: Theater of the World.

Laura Owens

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York: November 10- February 4, 2018

Yes, we are still in New York, and this final selection is of special note as it features the first retrospective of a more recent generation of artist coming out of the Los Angeles art scene of the 1990s. A painter, Laura Owens has been a very important and influential artist in her attempts to invigorate and challenge assumptions about what painting can be. It will be amazing to see so many of Owens' diverse works all in one space, and I anticipate that the catalogue and discussion generated by this exhibition around her contribution to the state of contemporary painting will be vital in coming years to the art historical conversations on this topic as well.

Laura Owens, Detail of Untitled (2014).

Robert Rauschenberg: Erasing the Rules

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco: November 18- March 25, 2018

Earlier this year, I was able to catch the very last day of this important Rauschenberg exhibition at the Tate Modern in London. I did not have much time and had to work my way through the show far more quickly than I liked. What struck me most was the focused nature of the exhibition-- honing in on the experimental nature of materials and collaborations the artist undertook with others-- and how well the show had been curated. How wonderful that the chance to see this exhibition is now again a reality with its opening at the newly renovated San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. For anyone reading this on the west coast of North America, I can promise that a quick weekend trip to San Francisco would be worth it alone just to take in this show. And yes, you can gaze upon the infamous Erased de Kooning Drawing as an added bonus!

Robert Rauschenberg, Erased de Kooning Drawing (1953)

Ilya and Emilia Kabakov: Not Everyone Will Be Taken Into the Future

Tate Modern, London: October 18- January 28, 2018

From North America to Europe, I was intrigued to see that there are still so many shows looking at Russian, Soviet, and more recent contemporary Russian artists. It must be both a sign of the times we live in, and also the interest and curiosity that many living in the West have about the power and influence of this large and imposing culture. This exhibition featuring the installation projects of Ilya and Emilia Kabakov is especially compelling as it focuses on the immersive projects of artists and individuals who have lived through and in between many different historical, political, and social moments and contexts related to Russian and Soviet history. Also set to coincide with the centenary of the 1917 Russian Revolution, the show promises to continue bringing awareness to how art functions within and in the aftermath of political transformation.  

Ilya Kabakov, The Man Who Flew Into Space From His Apartment (1985) 

Cosmopolis #1: Collective Intelligence

Centre Pompidou, Paris: October 18- December 18, 2017

It is said by many critics, artists, and art historians today that the art world is in crisis, and at the heart of this crisis is often the problem of the present state of art exhibition itself. In Paris, a new kind of event format will be unveiled this fall called the Cosmopolis-- described by the Centre Pompidou as a "new platform for the exploration of artistic practices based on the gaining and sharing of knowledge and nourished by their engagement with the social, urban and political issues of today." The first edition of this platform is titled Collective Intelligence and will take up the subject of cosmopolitanism and the role of art collectives, particularly in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, as its focus. The platform promises to break the mold of traditional exhibition strategies, and I along with many others in the art world will be curious to see how it succeeds (or fails).

The subject of artist collectives forms the basis for the Pompidou's Collective Intelligence exhibition. 

Manipulate the World

Moderna Museet, Stockholm: October 21- January 21, 2018

Along a similar line to the Cosmopolis show in Paris, this exhibition in Stockholm in one of Europe's most esteemed modern and contemporary art museums captured my attention with its stated themes of "alternative facts, relative truths and fragmented narratives." More importantly, the exhibition appears to be confronting head on the issue of connecting art and politics through the legacy of one of Sweden's most influential artists, Oyvind Fahlstrom, a figure that called upon fellow mid to late twentieth century artists to manipulate the world through play and participation. Twenty-eight Swedish and international artists will be exhibited over two floors of the museum for what promises to be an expansive and provocative show.

Detanico Lain, Timezonetype (2017)

Entangled: Two Views on Contemporary Canadian Painting

Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver: September 30- January 1, 2018

And finally, ending right in my own backyard is one of the more important exhibitions in recent years to seriously examine the history and current state of contemporary painting in Canada. For most people familiar with Vancouver's art scene, the medium of painting is often overshadowed by the city's ties to the history of photography and especially the photoconceptualism movement represented in the work of Vancouver's best known international art stars. As a show claiming to showcase painting's "revivial," I am curious to see how it will fall into line with some of the discourse I anticipate will frame the Laura Owens show in New York. All in all, a very important show for this city. 

John Kissick, burning the houses of cool man, yeah No.5 (hang the DJ) (2016)