Cutting through the deluge of conservative critics lambasting the Olympic opening ceremony, religious studies scholar Emma Cieslik argues that the bacchanalian drag performance was a perfect representation of Christian art history’s pagan and queer roots.
Good morning! Cutting through the deluge of conservative critics lambasting the Olympic opening ceremony, religious studies scholar Emma Cieslik argues that the bacchanalian drag performance was a perfect representation of Christian art history’s pagan and queer roots. Read her engaging essay in full below. In the news, Maya Pontone reports on the American Museum of Natural History’s repatriation of the bodies of 124 Native people as thousands more remain in its collection. Also today: a show about the social and political roles of hair, breakdancing statues andaquatic paintings at the Olympics, and Claudia Ross’s observations about a “new breed of kitsch.” — Lakshmi Rivera Amin, Associate Editor | |
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| Critics of the opening ceremony betrayed their ignorance of Christianity’s pagan roots — and the real reason behind their ire toward the show. | Emma Cieslik |
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OLYMPICS + PUBLIC ART | | Some of the Louvre’s most famous works inspired a series of half-submerged installations for the Olympic games. | Rhea Nayyar |
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| | “Rappin’ Max Robot” will spend a year in the South Bronx before going on permanent view at the Place de la Bataille-de-Stalingrad in Paris. | ET Rodriguez |
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MORE ON HYPERALLERGIC | | The institution holds the bodies of 12,000 individuals from communities within and outside the United States, the majority of which lack identification. | Maya Pontone |
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| | Styling Identities pushes the boundaries of museum display to incorporate local communities and global art through the theme of hair. | Alexandra M. Thomas |
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| | The Haas Brothers’ witty functional sculptures alluding to ecology proffer an environment that is knowingly — and laughably — unrealistic. | Claudia Ross |
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