{"id":1761758,"date":"2026-02-10T11:00:28","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T08:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1761758"},"modified":"2026-02-10T11:00:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T08:00:28","slug":"bad-bunny-makes-meme-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1761758","title":{"rendered":"Bad Bunny Makes Meme History"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p><main class=\"gh-main\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"gh-article post tag-daily-newsletter tag-newsletter no-image\">\n<header class=\"gh-article-header gh-canvas\">\n<p>                Daily Newsletter<\/p>\n<h1 class=\"gh-article-title is-title\">Bad Bunny Makes Meme History<\/h1>\n<p class=\"gh-article-excerpt is-body\">How the &#8220;Benito Bowl&#8221; took on a second life in the digital realm, Israel&#8217;s artwashing at the Venice Biennale, an art history of liminalism, and shows to see in NYC.  <\/p>\n<div class=\"gh-article-meta\">\n<div class=\"gh-article-author-image instapaper_ignore\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-profile-image\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/size\/w160\/2025\/11\/hyperallergic-favicon-d-blank-r-g-s-500.png\" alt=\"Hyperallergic\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"gh-article-meta-wrapper\">\n<h4 class=\"gh-article-author-name\">Hyperallergic<\/h4>\n<div class=\"gh-article-meta-content\"><time class=\"gh-article-meta-date\" datetime=\"2026-02-10\">February 10, 2026<\/time><span class=\"gh-article-meta-length\"><span class=\"bull\">\u2014<\/span> 5 min read<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<section class=\"gh-content gh-canvas is-body\">\n<p>If you&#8217;ve had Bad Bunny&#8217;s &#8220;NUEVAYoL&#8221; playing on loop in your brain, if you&#8217;ve pledged to call the Super Bowl &#8220;el Super Taz\u00f3n&#8221; for the rest of your life, if you&#8217;re considering swapping out all the mid-century furniture in your apartment for white plastic chairs, if you don&#8217;t even known which football teams played on Sunday night &#8230; then you might be one of millions of people who were moved, transfixed, and inspired by the Puerto Rican singer&#8217;s historic half-time performance. <\/p>\n<p>Today, we explore how the show took on a second life online, in the form of myriad memes that pulse with joy and resistance. Against the backdrop of Trump&#8217;s violent crackdown on people from Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly immigrants and people of color, Bad Bunny&#8217;s beautiful tribute to the region and its culture makes fascism look no less dangerous \u2014 but much more boring and uninspiring, and definitely lacking <em>saz\u00f3n<\/em>.  <\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014Valentina Di Liscia, senior editor<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-02-09-at-6.00.11---PM-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1402\" height=\"789\"><figcaption><span>Bad Bunny won the Super Bowl. (screenshot <\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Hyperallergic<\/em><\/i><span> via <\/span><span>Instagram<\/span><span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"bad-bunny%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cbenito-bowl%E2%80%9D-enters-the-meme-canon\">Bad Bunny\u2019s \u201cBenito Bowl\u201d Enters the Meme Canon<\/h3>\n<p>With endless references to Puerto Rico&#8217;s cultural landscape and Latine and Caribbean pride and symbolism, Bad Bunny&#8217;s Super Bowl performance was primed for meme-ing, Staff Writer Rhea Nayyar argues. The mostly-Spanish show was marked by surprises, like unexpected cameos (such as Lady Gaga, now forever known as &#8220;Leidy Gaga&#8221;) and sugarcane plants that turned out to be people in grassy costumes \u2014 which, as Nayyar predicts, we can expect to see again come October &#8230; <\/p>\n<hr>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-cta-card kg-cta-bg-white kg-cta-immersive  kg-cta-has-img  \" data-layout=\"immersive\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label\"><span>SPONSORED<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/2026\/02\/2026-MVP-Hyperallergic-Announcement-Matthew-Bogdanos-001-1.jpg\" alt=\"CTA Image\" data-image-dimensions=\"1200x675\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content-inner\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-text\">\n<p><b><strong>Matthew Bogdanos Awarded Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History for Repatriation of Stolen Artifacts<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>The leader of the Manhattan DA\u2019s Antiquities Trafficking Unit is acknowledged for his lifelong dedication to recovering and safeguarding looted antiquities.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                            Learn more<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"opinion\">Opinion<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/2026\/02\/israel-pav-1-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\"><figcaption><span>The shuttered Israel pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale (photo Hrag Vartanian\/<\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Hyperallergic<\/em><\/i><span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"israels-plan-to-artwash-genocide-at-the-venice-biennale\">Israel&#8217;s Plan to Artwash Genocide at the Venice Biennale<\/h3>\n<p>Israel has strategically used its Venice Biennale pavilion to legitimize unspeakable violence against Palestinians, and this year&#8217;s edition will be no exception, Adam Broomberg warns. \u201cArt here no longer operates even symbolically as a cover; it functions as a procedural mechanism, carried out through an artist selected for compliance rather than merit,\u201d\u00a0Broomberg writes. \u201cIsrael\u2019s participation in this year\u2019s Venice Biennale has thus been reduced to a single objective: to insist on visibility at any cost, asserting presence in defiance of a boycott.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-cta-card kg-cta-bg-white kg-cta-immersive  kg-cta-has-img  \" data-layout=\"immersive\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label\"><span>SPONSORED<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/2026\/02\/Alex_SCA_IMAGE-1.jpg\" alt=\"CTA Image\" data-image-dimensions=\"1200x675\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content-inner\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-text\">\n<p><b><strong>Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs at SFU\u2019s School for the Contemporary Arts<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Transform your art practice with access to internationally-recognized faculty and state-of-the-art facilities in downtown Vancouver. MFA and MA applications are accepted through February 15.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                            Learn more<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/2026\/02\/image-46-1.png\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1532\" height=\"862\"><figcaption><span>A photo of balconies that recalls the spatial disorientation of Giorgio de Chirico (photo u\/MysticMind89 via <\/span><span>Reddit<\/span><span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"how-liminalism-became-the-defining-aesthetic-of-our-time\">How Liminalism Became the Defining Aesthetic of Our Time<\/h3>\n<p>Abandoned malls, vacant airports, office floors after hours: These are some of the images that evoke &#8220;liminality,&#8221; the internet aesthetic of uncanny, in-between spaces. To our screen-weary eyes, there&#8217;s something irresistible about these snapshots of late-stage capitalism, writes Ed Simon: \u201cThe placelessness of Liminalism \u2014 these spaces could notably be anywhere \u2014 flattens experience in the same way that digital homogenization obliterates distance. Anonymity, alienation, and anxiety are now the bywords of our age, and Liminalism is the ultimate expression of that trinity.&#8221;<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"from-our-critics\">From Our Critics<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/2026\/02\/DOSIER-MARUJA-MALLO.jpg-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1339\" height=\"753\"><figcaption><span>Maruja Mallo,\u00a0&#8220;La verbena&#8221; (The Fair) (1927) (\u00a9 Maruja Mallo, VEGAP, Santander, 2024)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"spain%E2%80%99s-cosmic-mother-of-modernism\">Spain\u2019s Cosmic Mother of Modernism<\/h3>\n<p>Maruja Mallo viewed herself as an extension of her modernist paintings, in which female energy is a conduit for natural and even otherworldly forces. | Lauren Moya Ford<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"art-guide\">Art Guide<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/2026\/02\/IMG_4599-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1510\" height=\"849\"><figcaption><span>Angela Babby, \u201cMelt: Prayers for the People and the Planet\u201d (2019) (photo Lisa Yin Zhang\/<\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Hyperallergic<\/em><\/i><span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"five-shows-to-see-in-new-york-city-right-now\">Five Shows to See in New York City Right Now<\/h3>\n<p>This week&#8217;s standout exhibitions in New York City ground us firmly in land and place, in the here and now. Our recommendations include Francisco Goya&#8217;s visions of war at the Hispanic Society, Alison Nguyen at the Storefront for Art &amp; Architecture, Indigenous artistry in every medium, and three millennia of storytelling at the Morgan Library &amp; Museum. <\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"member-comment\">Member Comment<\/h2>\n<p>Christopher Pelham on \u201cEpstein Files Expose the Depths of the Art World&#8217;s Rot\u201d by Hrag Vartanian:<\/p>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-callout-card kg-callout-card-yellow\">\n<div class=\"kg-callout-text\">In my opinion, we need to free our arts institutions from donor-based support altogether. But it is but one aspect of a comprehensive and radical restructuring of society that would be necessary to remedy this situation. Arts organizations often need a lot of money because the cost of doing things (and living and real estate) is so high, because there is so little public space available to use, because the distribution of wealth is so imbalanced, and sometimes because the affluent board members needed to fundraise for these institutions sometimes prioritize their own pet and vanity projects that can be expensive undertakings that compromise their org&#8217;s mission (like the Met Breuer or Cooper Union&#8217;s new building fiasco or the expensive and disastrous rebranding of the Philadelphia Art Museum).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Commenting privileges are reserved\u00a0for paid members.\u00a0Join us today! <\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"from-the-archive\">From the Archive<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/2026\/02\/image-47-1.png\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1660\" height=\"934\"><figcaption><span>Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz during \u201cExodus\/Pilgrimage\u201d in downtown Orlando (2019) (photo by Dominic DiPaolo, courtesy the artist)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"a-visual-archive-of-diasporican-liberation\">A Visual Archive of Diasporican Liberation<\/h3>\n<p>A new book pulses with artistic forms by Puerto Rican artists born of necessity, urgency, collaboration, and activism. | Alicia Grull\u00f3n<\/p>\n<ul class=\"post-tags\">\n<li>\n                        Daily Newsletter\n                      <\/li>\n<li>\n                        Newsletter\n                      <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/main><\/p>\n<article class=\"gh-article post tag-daily-newsletter tag-newsletter no-image\">\n<header class=\"gh-article-header gh-canvas\">\n<p>                Daily Newsletter<\/p>\n<h1 class=\"gh-article-title is-title\">Bad Bunny Makes Meme History<\/h1>\n<p class=\"gh-article-excerpt is-body\">How the &#8220;Benito Bowl&#8221; took on a second life in the digital realm, Israel&#8217;s artwashing at the Venice Biennale, an art history of liminalism, and shows to see in NYC.  <\/p>\n<div class=\"gh-article-meta\">\n<div class=\"gh-article-author-image instapaper_ignore\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-profile-image\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/size\/w160\/2025\/11\/hyperallergic-favicon-d-blank-r-g-s-500.png\" alt=\"Hyperallergic\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"gh-article-meta-wrapper\">\n<h4 class=\"gh-article-author-name\">Hyperallergic<\/h4>\n<div class=\"gh-article-meta-content\"><time class=\"gh-article-meta-date\" datetime=\"2026-02-10\">February 10, 2026<\/time><span class=\"gh-article-meta-length\"><span class=\"bull\">\u2014<\/span> 5 min read<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<section class=\"gh-content gh-canvas is-body\">\n<p>If you&#8217;ve had Bad Bunny&#8217;s &#8220;NUEVAYoL&#8221; playing on loop in your brain, if you&#8217;ve pledged to call the Super Bowl &#8220;el Super Taz\u00f3n&#8221; for the rest of your life, if you&#8217;re considering swapping out all the mid-century furniture in your apartment for white plastic chairs, if you don&#8217;t even known which football teams played on Sunday night &#8230; then you might be one of millions of people who were moved, transfixed, and inspired by the Puerto Rican singer&#8217;s historic half-time performance. <\/p>\n<p>Today, we explore how the show took on a second life online, in the form of myriad memes that pulse with joy and resistance. Against the backdrop of Trump&#8217;s violent crackdown on people from Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly immigrants and people of color, Bad Bunny&#8217;s beautiful tribute to the region and its culture makes fascism look no less dangerous \u2014 but much more boring and uninspiring, and definitely lacking <em>saz\u00f3n<\/em>.  <\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014Valentina Di Liscia, senior editor<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-02-09-at-6.00.11---PM-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1402\" height=\"789\"><figcaption><span>Bad Bunny won the Super Bowl. (screenshot <\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Hyperallergic<\/em><\/i><span> via <\/span><span>Instagram<\/span><span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"bad-bunny%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cbenito-bowl%E2%80%9D-enters-the-meme-canon\">Bad Bunny\u2019s \u201cBenito Bowl\u201d Enters the Meme Canon<\/h3>\n<p>With endless references to Puerto Rico&#8217;s cultural landscape and Latine and Caribbean pride and symbolism, Bad Bunny&#8217;s Super Bowl performance was primed for meme-ing, Staff Writer Rhea Nayyar argues. The mostly-Spanish show was marked by surprises, like unexpected cameos (such as Lady Gaga, now forever known as &#8220;Leidy Gaga&#8221;) and sugarcane plants that turned out to be people in grassy costumes \u2014 which, as Nayyar predicts, we can expect to see again come October &#8230; <\/p>\n<hr>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-cta-card kg-cta-bg-white kg-cta-immersive  kg-cta-has-img  \" data-layout=\"immersive\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label\"><span>SPONSORED<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/2026\/02\/2026-MVP-Hyperallergic-Announcement-Matthew-Bogdanos-001-1.jpg\" alt=\"CTA Image\" data-image-dimensions=\"1200x675\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content-inner\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-text\">\n<p><b><strong>Matthew Bogdanos Awarded Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History for Repatriation of Stolen Artifacts<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>The leader of the Manhattan DA\u2019s Antiquities Trafficking Unit is acknowledged for his lifelong dedication to recovering and safeguarding looted antiquities.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                            Learn more<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"opinion\">Opinion<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/2026\/02\/israel-pav-1-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\"><figcaption><span>The shuttered Israel pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale (photo Hrag Vartanian\/<\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Hyperallergic<\/em><\/i><span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"israels-plan-to-artwash-genocide-at-the-venice-biennale\">Israel&#8217;s Plan to Artwash Genocide at the Venice Biennale<\/h3>\n<p>Israel has strategically used its Venice Biennale pavilion to legitimize unspeakable violence against Palestinians, and this year&#8217;s edition will be no exception, Adam Broomberg warns. \u201cArt here no longer operates even symbolically as a cover; it functions as a procedural mechanism, carried out through an artist selected for compliance rather than merit,\u201d\u00a0Broomberg writes. \u201cIsrael\u2019s participation in this year\u2019s Venice Biennale has thus been reduced to a single objective: to insist on visibility at any cost, asserting presence in defiance of a boycott.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-cta-card kg-cta-bg-white kg-cta-immersive  kg-cta-has-img  \" data-layout=\"immersive\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label\"><span>SPONSORED<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/2026\/02\/Alex_SCA_IMAGE-1.jpg\" alt=\"CTA Image\" data-image-dimensions=\"1200x675\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content-inner\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-text\">\n<p><b><strong>Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs at SFU\u2019s School for the Contemporary Arts<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Transform your art practice with access to internationally-recognized faculty and state-of-the-art facilities in downtown Vancouver. MFA and MA applications are accepted through February 15.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                            Learn more<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/2026\/02\/image-46-1.png\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1532\" height=\"862\"><figcaption><span>A photo of balconies that recalls the spatial disorientation of Giorgio de Chirico (photo u\/MysticMind89 via <\/span><span>Reddit<\/span><span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"how-liminalism-became-the-defining-aesthetic-of-our-time\">How Liminalism Became the Defining Aesthetic of Our Time<\/h3>\n<p>Abandoned malls, vacant airports, office floors after hours: These are some of the images that evoke &#8220;liminality,&#8221; the internet aesthetic of uncanny, in-between spaces. To our screen-weary eyes, there&#8217;s something irresistible about these snapshots of late-stage capitalism, writes Ed Simon: \u201cThe placelessness of Liminalism \u2014 these spaces could notably be anywhere \u2014 flattens experience in the same way that digital homogenization obliterates distance. Anonymity, alienation, and anxiety are now the bywords of our age, and Liminalism is the ultimate expression of that trinity.&#8221;<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"from-our-critics\">From Our Critics<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/2026\/02\/DOSIER-MARUJA-MALLO.jpg-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1339\" height=\"753\"><figcaption><span>Maruja Mallo,\u00a0&#8220;La verbena&#8221; (The Fair) (1927) (\u00a9 Maruja Mallo, VEGAP, Santander, 2024)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"spain%E2%80%99s-cosmic-mother-of-modernism\">Spain\u2019s Cosmic Mother of Modernism<\/h3>\n<p>Maruja Mallo viewed herself as an extension of her modernist paintings, in which female energy is a conduit for natural and even otherworldly forces. | Lauren Moya Ford<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"art-guide\">Art Guide<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/2026\/02\/IMG_4599-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1510\" height=\"849\"><figcaption><span>Angela Babby, \u201cMelt: Prayers for the People and the Planet\u201d (2019) (photo Lisa Yin Zhang\/<\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Hyperallergic<\/em><\/i><span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"five-shows-to-see-in-new-york-city-right-now\">Five Shows to See in New York City Right Now<\/h3>\n<p>This week&#8217;s standout exhibitions in New York City ground us firmly in land and place, in the here and now. Our recommendations include Francisco Goya&#8217;s visions of war at the Hispanic Society, Alison Nguyen at the Storefront for Art &amp; Architecture, Indigenous artistry in every medium, and three millennia of storytelling at the Morgan Library &amp; Museum. <\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"member-comment\">Member Comment<\/h2>\n<p>Christopher Pelham on \u201cEpstein Files Expose the Depths of the Art World&#8217;s Rot\u201d by Hrag Vartanian:<\/p>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-callout-card kg-callout-card-yellow\">\n<div class=\"kg-callout-text\">In my opinion, we need to free our arts institutions from donor-based support altogether. But it is but one aspect of a comprehensive and radical restructuring of society that would be necessary to remedy this situation. Arts organizations often need a lot of money because the cost of doing things (and living and real estate) is so high, because there is so little public space available to use, because the distribution of wealth is so imbalanced, and sometimes because the affluent board members needed to fundraise for these institutions sometimes prioritize their own pet and vanity projects that can be expensive undertakings that compromise their org&#8217;s mission (like the Met Breuer or Cooper Union&#8217;s new building fiasco or the expensive and disastrous rebranding of the Philadelphia Art Museum).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Commenting privileges are reserved\u00a0for paid members.\u00a0Join us today! <\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"from-the-archive\">From the Archive<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/2026\/02\/image-47-1.png\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1660\" height=\"934\"><figcaption><span>Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz during \u201cExodus\/Pilgrimage\u201d in downtown Orlando (2019) (photo by Dominic DiPaolo, courtesy the artist)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"a-visual-archive-of-diasporican-liberation\">A Visual Archive of Diasporican Liberation<\/h3>\n<p>A new book pulses with artistic forms by Puerto Rican artists born of necessity, urgency, collaboration, and activism. | Alicia Grull\u00f3n<\/p>\n<ul class=\"post-tags\">\n<li>\n                        Daily Newsletter\n                      <\/li>\n<li>\n                        Newsletter\n                      <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<section class=\"gh-content gh-canvas is-body\">\n<p>If you&#8217;ve had Bad Bunny&#8217;s &#8220;NUEVAYoL&#8221; playing on loop in your brain, if you&#8217;ve pledged to call the Super Bowl &#8220;el Super Taz\u00f3n&#8221; for the rest of your life, if you&#8217;re considering swapping out all the mid-century furniture in your apartment for white plastic chairs, if you don&#8217;t even known which football teams played on Sunday night &#8230; then you might be one of millions of people who were moved, transfixed, and inspired by the Puerto Rican singer&#8217;s historic half-time performance. <\/p>\n<p>Today, we explore how the show took on a second life online, in the form of myriad memes that pulse with joy and resistance. Against the backdrop of Trump&#8217;s violent crackdown on people from Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly immigrants and people of color, Bad Bunny&#8217;s beautiful tribute to the region and its culture makes fascism look no less dangerous \u2014 but much more boring and uninspiring, and definitely lacking <em>saz\u00f3n<\/em>.  <\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014Valentina Di Liscia, senior editor<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-02-09-at-6.00.11---PM-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1402\" height=\"789\"><figcaption><span>Bad Bunny won the Super Bowl. (screenshot <\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Hyperallergic<\/em><\/i><span> via <\/span><span>Instagram<\/span><span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"bad-bunny%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cbenito-bowl%E2%80%9D-enters-the-meme-canon\">Bad Bunny\u2019s \u201cBenito Bowl\u201d Enters the Meme Canon<\/h3>\n<p>With endless references to Puerto Rico&#8217;s cultural landscape and Latine and Caribbean pride and symbolism, Bad Bunny&#8217;s Super Bowl performance was primed for meme-ing, Staff Writer Rhea Nayyar argues. The mostly-Spanish show was marked by surprises, like unexpected cameos (such as Lady Gaga, now forever known as &#8220;Leidy Gaga&#8221;) and sugarcane plants that turned out to be people in grassy costumes \u2014 which, as Nayyar predicts, we can expect to see again come October &#8230; <\/p>\n<hr>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-cta-card kg-cta-bg-white kg-cta-immersive  kg-cta-has-img  \" data-layout=\"immersive\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label\"><span>SPONSORED<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/2026\/02\/2026-MVP-Hyperallergic-Announcement-Matthew-Bogdanos-001-1.jpg\" alt=\"CTA Image\" data-image-dimensions=\"1200x675\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content-inner\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-text\">\n<p><b><strong>Matthew Bogdanos Awarded Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History for Repatriation of Stolen Artifacts<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>The leader of the Manhattan DA\u2019s Antiquities Trafficking Unit is acknowledged for his lifelong dedication to recovering and safeguarding looted antiquities.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                            Learn more<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"opinion\">Opinion<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/2026\/02\/israel-pav-1-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\"><figcaption><span>The shuttered Israel pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale (photo Hrag Vartanian\/<\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Hyperallergic<\/em><\/i><span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"israels-plan-to-artwash-genocide-at-the-venice-biennale\">Israel&#8217;s Plan to Artwash Genocide at the Venice Biennale<\/h3>\n<p>Israel has strategically used its Venice Biennale pavilion to legitimize unspeakable violence against Palestinians, and this year&#8217;s edition will be no exception, Adam Broomberg warns. \u201cArt here no longer operates even symbolically as a cover; it functions as a procedural mechanism, carried out through an artist selected for compliance rather than merit,\u201d\u00a0Broomberg writes. \u201cIsrael\u2019s participation in this year\u2019s Venice Biennale has thus been reduced to a single objective: to insist on visibility at any cost, asserting presence in defiance of a boycott.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-cta-card kg-cta-bg-white kg-cta-immersive  kg-cta-has-img  \" data-layout=\"immersive\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-sponsor-label\"><span>SPONSORED<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/2026\/02\/Alex_SCA_IMAGE-1.jpg\" alt=\"CTA Image\" data-image-dimensions=\"1200x675\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content-inner\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-text\">\n<p><b><strong>Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs at SFU\u2019s School for the Contemporary Arts<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Transform your art practice with access to internationally-recognized faculty and state-of-the-art facilities in downtown Vancouver. MFA and MA applications are accepted through February 15.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                            Learn more<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/2026\/02\/image-46-1.png\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1532\" height=\"862\"><figcaption><span>A photo of balconies that recalls the spatial disorientation of Giorgio de Chirico (photo u\/MysticMind89 via <\/span><span>Reddit<\/span><span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"how-liminalism-became-the-defining-aesthetic-of-our-time\">How Liminalism Became the Defining Aesthetic of Our Time<\/h3>\n<p>Abandoned malls, vacant airports, office floors after hours: These are some of the images that evoke &#8220;liminality,&#8221; the internet aesthetic of uncanny, in-between spaces. To our screen-weary eyes, there&#8217;s something irresistible about these snapshots of late-stage capitalism, writes Ed Simon: \u201cThe placelessness of Liminalism \u2014 these spaces could notably be anywhere \u2014 flattens experience in the same way that digital homogenization obliterates distance. Anonymity, alienation, and anxiety are now the bywords of our age, and Liminalism is the ultimate expression of that trinity.&#8221;<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"from-our-critics\">From Our Critics<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/2026\/02\/DOSIER-MARUJA-MALLO.jpg-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1339\" height=\"753\"><figcaption><span>Maruja Mallo,\u00a0&#8220;La verbena&#8221; (The Fair) (1927) (\u00a9 Maruja Mallo, VEGAP, Santander, 2024)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"spain%E2%80%99s-cosmic-mother-of-modernism\">Spain\u2019s Cosmic Mother of Modernism<\/h3>\n<p>Maruja Mallo viewed herself as an extension of her modernist paintings, in which female energy is a conduit for natural and even otherworldly forces. | Lauren Moya Ford<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"art-guide\">Art Guide<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/2026\/02\/IMG_4599-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1510\" height=\"849\"><figcaption><span>Angela Babby, \u201cMelt: Prayers for the People and the Planet\u201d (2019) (photo Lisa Yin Zhang\/<\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Hyperallergic<\/em><\/i><span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"five-shows-to-see-in-new-york-city-right-now\">Five Shows to See in New York City Right Now<\/h3>\n<p>This week&#8217;s standout exhibitions in New York City ground us firmly in land and place, in the here and now. Our recommendations include Francisco Goya&#8217;s visions of war at the Hispanic Society, Alison Nguyen at the Storefront for Art &amp; Architecture, Indigenous artistry in every medium, and three millennia of storytelling at the Morgan Library &amp; Museum. <\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"member-comment\">Member Comment<\/h2>\n<p>Christopher Pelham on \u201cEpstein Files Expose the Depths of the Art World&#8217;s Rot\u201d by Hrag Vartanian:<\/p>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-callout-card kg-callout-card-yellow\">\n<div class=\"kg-callout-text\">In my opinion, we need to free our arts institutions from donor-based support altogether. But it is but one aspect of a comprehensive and radical restructuring of society that would be necessary to remedy this situation. Arts organizations often need a lot of money because the cost of doing things (and living and real estate) is so high, because there is so little public space available to use, because the distribution of wealth is so imbalanced, and sometimes because the affluent board members needed to fundraise for these institutions sometimes prioritize their own pet and vanity projects that can be expensive undertakings that compromise their org&#8217;s mission (like the Met Breuer or Cooper Union&#8217;s new building fiasco or the expensive and disastrous rebranding of the Philadelphia Art Museum).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Commenting privileges are reserved\u00a0for paid members.\u00a0Join us today! <\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"from-the-archive\">From the Archive<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/2026\/02\/image-47-1.png\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1660\" height=\"934\"><figcaption><span>Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz during \u201cExodus\/Pilgrimage\u201d in downtown Orlando (2019) (photo by Dominic DiPaolo, courtesy the artist)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"a-visual-archive-of-diasporican-liberation\">A Visual Archive of Diasporican Liberation<\/h3>\n<p>A new book pulses with artistic forms by Puerto Rican artists born of necessity, urgency, collaboration, and activism. | Alicia Grull\u00f3n<\/p>\n<ul class=\"post-tags\">\n<li>\n                        Daily Newsletter\n                      <\/li>\n<li>\n                        Newsletter\n                      <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<article class=\"gh-card post\">\n<figure class=\"gh-card-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/size\/w600\/2026\/02\/KAPOW-Naoto_Nakagawa_2026_Still_Life_With_Wine_Opener_Lemon_and_Pomegranate.jpg\" alt=\"Naoto Nakagawa 2026 Is on View at KAPOW\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"gh-card-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"gh-card-title is-title\">Naoto Nakagawa 2026 Is on View at KAPOW<\/h3>\n<p class=\"gh-card-excerpt is-body\">The Lower East Side gallery presents new works by an artist who has shown in major US museums since the 1960s. The exhibition is open through February 22.<\/p>\n<footer class=\"gh-card-meta\"><span class=\"gh-card-author\">KAPOW<\/span><\/footer>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article class=\"gh-card post\">\n<figure class=\"gh-card-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/size\/w600\/2026\/02\/2024_IDSVAStudentsatVeniceBiennale_photobyChristopherAndrew.jpg\" alt=\"The Biennale Certificate in Philosophy and Art\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"gh-card-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"gh-card-title is-title\">The Biennale Certificate in Philosophy and Art<\/h3>\n<p class=\"gh-card-excerpt is-body\">The Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts (IDSVA) invites creatives from all backgrounds to apply for this four-day summer program in Venice.<\/p>\n<footer class=\"gh-card-meta\"><span class=\"gh-card-author\">Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts (IDSVA)<\/span><\/footer>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article class=\"gh-card post\">\n<figure class=\"gh-card-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/size\/w600\/2026\/02\/2026-MVP-Hyperallergic-Announcement-Matthew-Bogdanos-001.jpg\" alt=\"Matthew Bogdanos Awarded Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History for Repatriation of Stolen Artifacts\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"gh-card-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"gh-card-title is-title\">Matthew Bogdanos Awarded Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History for Repatriation of Stolen Artifacts<\/h3>\n<p class=\"gh-card-excerpt is-body\">The leader of the Manhattan DA\u2019s Antiquities Trafficking Unit is acknowledged for his lifelong dedication to recovering and safeguarding looted antiquities.<\/p>\n<footer class=\"gh-card-meta\"><span class=\"gh-card-author\">The Vilcek Foundation<\/span><\/footer>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article class=\"gh-card post\">\n<figure class=\"gh-card-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/size\/w600\/2026\/02\/Alex_SCA_IMAGE.jpg\" alt=\"Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs at SFU\u2019s School for the Contemporary Arts\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"gh-card-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"gh-card-title is-title\">Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs at SFU\u2019s School for the Contemporary Arts<\/h3>\n<p class=\"gh-card-excerpt is-body\">Transform your art practice with access to internationally-recognized faculty and state-of-the-art facilities in downtown Vancouver. MFA and MA applications are accepted through February 15.<\/p>\n<footer class=\"gh-card-meta\"><span class=\"gh-card-author\">Simon Fraser University<\/span><\/footer>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/bad-bunny-makes-meme-history\/&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;&#8221;] Daily Newsletter Bad Bunny Makes Meme History How the &#8220;Benito Bowl&#8221; took on a second life in the digital realm, Israel&#8217;s artwashing at the Venice Biennale, an art history of liminalism, and shows to see in NYC. Hyperallergic February 10, 2026\u2014 5 min read If you&#8217;ve had Bad Bunny&#8217;s &#8220;NUEVAYoL&#8221; playing on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,69],"class_list":["post-1761758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-hyperallergic-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1761758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1761758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1761758\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1761758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1761758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1761758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}