Graphite Insomnia
“A deep black square can be an object or an opening. Sometimes you can get a surface so deep, rich, and black that it begins to contain an immense amount of space and light. Your perception begins to equivocate, reading it as both object and void.”
When the Shows Stopped
In 2020 actor Kait Russell got her big break – her first audition for a Broadway musical. But while preparing for it she received a phone call that changed everything. “Broadway is shutting down,” her agent told her. “We can’t keep your audition.”
What Is Aesthetics? An Introduction to ‘The Art of Thinking’
“If you’ve ever asked yourself why a particular painting is considered beautiful, or whether a curious item displayed in a gallery even counts as art, then you’ve engaged with the same species of question that aesthetics aims to address.”
Announcing the 2020-21 Critical Read Blogging Fellows
Each of these writers has a unique point of view and range of interests. They will be contributing to Critical Read between November 2020 and June 2021.
Explore The Latest Stories
Art Across America
Have Skateboard. Dive Deep.
Poet Anders Carlson-Wee on the skateboarding aesthetic, the benefits of dumpster diving, and the...
How to Tell a Dance on Film
Elliot Caplan and Mirra Bank watch dance with eyes and minds open to creative possibilities. They...
Drop Out. Tune In. Start a Revolution.
Mario Torero on leaving art school, his place in the Chicano art movement, and fifty years of...
Art Is Essential
In March 2020 Critical Read began the Art Is Essential flash nonfiction project. We asked writers to describe the art that they are turning to during these uncertain times. Since then, we’ve heard from over 300 writers across the country.
– Adam Zucker on Mierle Laderman Ukeles’s Touch Sanitation
How can art be inessential? It's right there, the same as always, and yet, incredibly different. #ArtIsEssential
My children will see plenty of movies as they grow up, but I know these silent ones will stay with them. They are works of art, artifacts from a different age, and reminders that art can transcend time and give us a glimpse of the eternal.
Langston Hughes has been staying up with me on nights when I can't sleep, and on days when I can't work. #ArtIsEssential
Art sometimes creates unexpected opportunities for daily joy: kitchen tables make me smile, and that in itself is a quiet pleasure.
Hidden Histories + Criticism
Art In-Depth
Victim of his own intent: On Alvin Feinman
“My ambition, nonetheless, is that someday in the distant future, just one lonely reader will wander the shelves of a library and discover a slim volume of my poetry, taking inspiration from my work in the way I found it in Alvin Feinman’s.”
Art has history
Online since 2016, Critical Read is a nonprofit, non-partisan publisher dedicated to making American art and art history more inclusive and discoverable.
We tell the true stories of the fine, literary, and performing arts. Browse our Artwork Biography e-books, available in MOBI, EPUB, and PDF files.
Memoir + Essay + Travel
First Person Stories
Graphite Insomnia
“A deep black square can be an object or an opening. Sometimes you can get a surface so deep,...
Walls Covered in Basquiat
"What might be if he lived? What does it mean that his image is defined and further commoditized...
The Lewis Chessmen, Deer Antler, and a French Bulldog
"What could I make with antler?" I recalled the Lewis Chessmen and figured I could attempt to carve...
An Itch for Things Remote
From ‘Moby Dick’ to Frank Stella, a writer looks to art of the sea for inspiration....
Grass Grew on the Sidewalks
The dream of visiting Harper Lee’s world leads to reconnecting with a grandmother....
Georgia O’Keeffe in New Mexico
Lessons from a master in living with beauty: Georgia O’Keeffe’s home beckons for a 15-hour...
Trending
Seventeen Ways of Looking at the Mona Lisa May 2, 2019 We asked writers and artists to show us what the…
Georgia O’Keeffe in New Mexico December 23, 2019 Lessons from a master in living with beauty: Georgia O’Keeffe’s…
The Lewis Chessmen, Deer Antler, and a French Bulldog June 23, 2020 "What could I make with antler?" I recalled the Lewis…
How to Tell a Dance on Film July 8, 2020 Elliot Caplan and Mirra Bank watch dance with eyes and…
Walls Covered in Basquiat August 31, 2020 "What might be if he lived? What does it mean…
Drop Out. Tune In. Start a Revolution. May 12, 2020 Mario Torero on leaving art school, his place in the…
Have Skateboard. Dive Deep. August 10, 2020 Poet Anders Carlson-Wee on the skateboarding aesthetic, the benefits of…
To Bobby, With Love March 28, 2018 The last single person among her friends, a young woman…
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How a 19th-Century Idea Could Rescue 21st-Century Art
October 20, 2020• Commentary, Reported, Visual Art
The American Art-Union offers a model for supporting artists with direct engagement from the...
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