01. Flavor Flav Opens First ‘Flav’s Fried Chicken’ Eatery in Iowa
“Rapper and reality TV star Flavor Flav is bringing the flavor of chicken to Iowa.” (Billboard).
02. Landmark Exhibition of John Marin’s Revolutionary Watercolors (Above)
In 1948, a nationwide survey pronounced John Marin (1870–1953) “America’s Number 1 artist.” Marin’s exuberant and improvisational paintings are recognized today as critical to the evolution of American modernism. Less well known, though, is the extent to which Marin pushed the limits of the watercolor medium, establishing for a new generation of artists its inherent suitability to avant-garde expression. The Art Institute of Chicago has organized a major exhibition that is the first to explore this idea through close technical analysis of the artist’s watercolor practice: John Marin’s Watercolors: A Medium for Modernism, which is on view in the museum’s Jean and Steven Goldman Prints and Drawings Galleries in the Richard and Mary L. Gray Wing (Galleries 124–127) from January 23 through April 17, 2011. This groundbreaking exhibition presents 110 stunning watercolors, oils, drawings, and etchings by Marin, ranging from early images rooted in traditional practice to more experimental compositions. At the heart of this exhibition is a group of 40 watercolors that were donated to the Art Institute in 1949 and 1956 from the collection of Alfred Stieglitz by his wife, Georgia O’Keeffe. While a few individual works from this gift have been loaned on rare occasions to other institutions, this collection has never before been presented and published in its entirety. Important loans from other Chicago collections enrich this cache of material even further. After its debut in Chicago, John Marin’s Watercolors: A Medium for Modernism will travel to the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, where it will be on view from June 26 through September 11, 2011.” (Art Daily).
03. In Defense of Decaf
“Decaf drinkers have it rough. Not only are they always the butt of (never very funny) jokes and the constant recipients of barista skunk eye, but they’re also often reduced to settling for the dregs in their cups.” (Serious Eats).
04. No Such Thing as Silence: John Cage’s 4′33″
“First performed at the midpoint of the twentieth century, John Cage’s 4′33″, a composition conceived of without a single musical note, is among the most celebrated and ballyhooed cultural gestures in the history of modern music. A meditation on the act of listening and the nature of performance, Cage’s controversial piece became the iconic statement of the meaning of silence in art and is a landmark work of American music.” (YUP).
