Dear Readers,

 

This issue of The Art Section is significant. Chris Kraus (author of I Love Dick) interviews Phil Auslander about his new book, Reactivations: Essays on Performance and its Documentation (University of Michigan Press 2018). Their dialogue about Auslander’s book touches on issues surrounding the relationship between performance art and its documentation, as well as performance art in the 1970s and today. They discuss their shared interest in performance theorist and artist Michael Kirby and touch on such other artists as Yves Klein and Vito Acconci. The importance of these two writers, each of whom has been involved with performance art for more than 40 years, brings a new perspective to the table.

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London (UK) artist Erin Lawlor’s discussion of Alla Prima painting with Los Angeles based artist Liat Yossifor for TAS is an important exchange between two painters that reveals much about their process and friendship. It is of great interest to note that the ways in which painters think about painting that cross time zones, time periods, and geography.

 

Gabriela Ferrari, who interned for The Art Section, gives us her view of Winnie The Pooh: Exploring a Classic at The High Museum of Art here in Atlanta. This exhibition, which was curated by Annemarie Bilclough at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, is filled with exquisite drawings by E. H. Shepard that later became the illustrations for A. A. Milne’s classic book. Shepard and Milne both worked for Punch magazine shortly after WWI and were recommended to each other as collaborators. The pencil drawings by Shepard are exquisite; the drawing quality a great surprise and delight that made me reevaluate my notions of children’s book illustration.

 

I would also like to express my deep sorrow for the loss of artist Sabina Ott, who died on June 26th of this year. She wrote a beautiful essay for The Art Section in 2013: http://www.theartsection.com/the-territory-and-the-terrain.This essay shows her spirit of generosity, adventure, and artistic prowess. Sabina surely will be missed.

 

With appreciation,

Deanna

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