One-on-one with Alfredo Jaar, Damien Hirst’s secret life, Anish Kapoor’s optical trickery, and another BS “most influential” list.
At a cafe named Anti Cafe — though it looks like any other cafe — a man is writing dozens of cards by hand, sealing them inside pretty little envelopes, and stacking them in a pile on the table.
After half an hour of observing him from the next table, I finally ask, “Are those wedding invitations?”
“Nope,” he replies.
“Birthday party invitations?”
“Nope.”
“So what are they for, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Just letters to my friends to show them how much I appreciate them,” he discloses with an air of self-satisfaction.
“Oh, that’s so beautiful,” I say with my hand on my heart, feeling sincerely touched. But as I leave the cafe, I begin wondering if that guy is okay.
Down in the subway station, I see another young man using a Sharpie pen to make meticulous drawings of the Manhattan grid on a large piece of cardboard. Avenue by avenue, street by street, the lines in his map are perfectly straight without the use of a ruler. I see him doing the same thing on the same subway bench the next day and admire his dedication. On the third day, it dawns on me that this young artist lives in the subway.
At night, I see a group of grinning people walking around with grabbers, searching for litter on the sidewalk. “We’re just helping clean up the neighborhood,” one of them tells me. “Oh, that’s so nice of you,” I say, feeling genuinely impressed. But then I notice that everyone is suspiciously good-looking and that there’s barely any litter to pick up. It appears that the members of this “trash club” are here to pick up more than just trash.
A flock of birds in the sky makes the shape of a middle finger, reminding me it’s migration season. At the pierogi place, not a single soul is Polish. Global Wealth Clothing sells garments to the poor. The Cathedral of Joy is in a miserable spot. A place called The Community is empty of people. And on one of the windows of a shiny new building, a sign reads in big letters: “Warning: rat infestation. Tenants on rent strike.”
—Hakim Bishara, editor-in-chief
PS—If you’re in New York on September 30, come meet me at the International Studio & Curatorial Program, where we’ll talk to resident artists and enjoy some refreshments.
Alfredo Jaar Is Still Trying to Change the World
In April of 1987, when Reaganism was running amok and Henry Kissinger was fiddling with world affairs like a puppet master from hell, a relatively unknown 31-year-old Chilean artist named Alfredo Jaar staged his billboard installation A Logo for America smack dab in the heart of Times Square. It instantly became one of the most discussed works of political art in the contemporary canon.
Appearing between ads for tomato sauce and a Mexican restaurant, the 42-second LED animation bewildered New Yorkers with the message “This Is Not America” superimposed on a map of the United States, followed by an image of the US flag with the text, “This Is Not America’s Flag.” Next, the “R” in America shifted into a dancing map of South, Central, and North America. | Hakim Bishara
Apply for a 2027–2028 Fellowship at the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Fellowships at SAAM and its Renwick Gallery provide scholars with access to collections, community, and professional advancement.
News
- Unionized workers at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the American Folk Art Museum vote to authorize a strike action if they don’t receive fair offers for union contracts with their respective institutions.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art officially breaks ground on its forthcoming Tang Wing for modern and contemporary art, designed by Frida Escobedo.
- The School of Visual Arts will be ending its graduate Photography, Video, and Related Media program in light of the institution’s mounting deficit.
- The Brooklyn Public Library officially launches its first-ever lending program for craft supplies.
- Pro-Palestine activists protest Igor Tulchinsky’s financial backing of the new Bayeux Tapestry exhibit at the British Museum, following reports that Tulchinsky financed a community center in an illegal Israeli settlement in the Occupied West Bank.
- An inflatable cavatappi-shaped artwork inspired by fashion house Bulgari’s serpent motif appears on the High Line and will remain on view through New York Fashion Week.
- Donald Trump wants to replace José de Rivera’s “Infinity” (1967) outside the National Museum of American History with a statue of George Washington.
- A Florida family was sold over 200 forged Andy Warhol artworks by an international network of suppliers, authenticators, dealers, and distributors, a lawsuit alleges.
From Our Critics
The Many Islands of “America”
A show on art from Cuba, Guam, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and their diasporas touches on themes of colonization, enslavement, migration, and more. | Aruna D’Souza
Announcing the 2026 Rabkin Prize Winners
The Rabkin Foundation celebrates the creative and intellectual contributions of today’s art writers, with eight unrestricted awards of $50,000 each.
Features
Guides
15 Fall Art -Ennials, From St. Louis to Dakar
A photography show dedicated to NYC in the nighttime, an Indigenous-led arts festival honoring the Mississippi River, the first-ever Bienal de Yucatán, and more biennials and triennials to visit across the world. | Phillip Pyle, Anna Lee, and Rhea Nayyar
10 Art Shows to See in Chicago This Fall
Jill Mulleady’s uncannily familiar scenes, Kate Hefferan’s secret magic, the critical role of printed matter in prisons, a moving photographic tribute to Emmett Till, and more. | Natalie Jenkins
10 Art Shows to See in DC This Fall
Carlotta Corpron photographs light, Ahn Chang-Hong unmasks Korean history, Black women reimagine Shakespeare, three mid-century New York artists paint by the sea, and more. | Emma Cieslik
Opinion
Standing in the Shadow of No Towers
The struggle for immigrant rights and lives after 9/11 defined a generation of South Asian art and activism, even if it felt at times like we were trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon. | Naeem Mohaiemen
Member Event: ISCP Ground Floor Studio Visits
Join Hyperallergic on September 30 for an evening of studio visits and conversations with the NYC-based artists selected for the International Studio & Curatorial Program’s Ground Floor Residency.
Memes
- Art Movements: The best and absolute worst of the TIME 100 Art list, Amy Sherald shines on the magazine’s uneven list, Artadia names a new director, Johnny Depp’s awfulness, and more.
- A View From the Easel: printmaker and photographer Oswaldo García dances to cumbias while accordion-folding, book-binding, and watching the magical process of a printer churning out risographs.
- In Memoriam: This week, we honor Cat Frazier, a designer who changed the internet; Susan Michod, a Pattern and Decoration painter; Joel Snyder, one of the first photography professors in the US, and others.
Estudio EA