The Problem With Land Acknowledgments

October 13, 2022 • View in browser

Good morning. 🌧️ $800,000! That's how much this year's MacArthur “Genius” Fellows will each receive in unrestricted funds (dolled out over five years). That's the first increase in seven years from the previous cash award of $625k. Four visual artists received this exclusive honor yesterday. Congratulations to them all.

Also today, land acknowledgments have become a common practice among American museums, following the examples of countries like Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. Joseph Pierce, an associate professor at Stony Brook University who is also a Cherokee Nation citizen, writes that unless paired with meaningful action, these acknowledgments are "empty, exculpatory, and self-serving." Everyone in the cultural sector should pay attention to Pierce's words.

There's so much more today, including a copyright case against Andy Warhol, impressions from a public talk and film screening with Nan Goldin, and what to expect at the New York Art Book Fair this weekend.

— Hakim Bishara, Senior Editor

Your Land Acknowledgment Is Not Enough

Land acknowledgment without action is an empty gesture, exculpatory and self-serving. | Joseph Pierce

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Comparison of the lines on the subject’s face in Lynn Goldsmith’s Prince photograph and Andy Warhol’s Prince series (via The Andy Warhol Foundation For The Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith et al, 2017)

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Printed Matter’s New York Art Book Fair makes a grand return to Chelsea after three years of operating virtually and over a decade of presenting at MoMA PS1.

Visual artists Paul Chan, Sky Hopinka, Tavares Strachan, and Amanda Williams are named 2022 MacArthur “Genius” Fellows.

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We joined devotees of the photographer and activist at a screening of the new documentary All the Beauty and Bloodshed, followed by a talk with Goldin. | Jasmine Liu

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Billy Al Bengston (1934-2022)
Los Angeles artist | Hyperallergic

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