{"id":1957564,"date":"2026-05-26T10:00:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T07:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1957564"},"modified":"2026-05-26T10:00:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T07:00:45","slug":"betye-saars-birthday-present","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1957564","title":{"rendered":"Betye Saar\u2019s Birthday Present"},"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\">Betye Saar\u2019s Birthday Present<\/h1>\n<p class=\"gh-article-excerpt is-body\">The assemblage artist donates her doll collection to the New York Historical, and we walk you through strong performance art at the Venice Biennale. <\/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:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/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=\"2026-05-26\">May 26, 2026<\/time><span class=\"gh-article-meta-length\"><span class=\"bull\">\u2014<\/span> 4 min read<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<section class=\"gh-content gh-canvas is-body\">\n<p>A nude performer dangling upside-down from a giant bell, clanging it on the hour. Another rolling perilously down bleachers, wearing a crumbling plaster skirt. And that isn\u2019t even to mention the porta-potties, which you\u2019re supposed to pee in to feed a massive tank in which a performer is submerged (the urine is filtered).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>These are scenes you might witness at this year\u2019s Venice Biennale. Performance is one of the strongest veins, and today, critic Eur\u00eddice Arratia walks you through Florentina Holzinger and Miet Warlop\u2019s displays at the Austrian and Belgian pavilions.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On this side of the Atlantic, meet iconic assemblage artist Betye Saar\u2019s \u201cfamily\u201d \u2014\u00a0a collection of Black dolls she\u2019s promising to the New York Historical on the occasion of turning 100(!). Of course, Saar would be the one giving a gift on her own birthday.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014Lisa Yin Zhang, associate editor<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/05\/euridice-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><\/figure>\n<div>\n<h3>\n\t\t\tPerformance Cuts Through the Noise at the Venice Biennale<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\n\t\tUnless you were attending a silent retreat the past few weeks, you already know that no other Venice Biennale in recent history has gotten off to a more fraught start than this year\u2019s. In May 2025, its artistic director,\u00a0Koyo Kouoh, passed away. Then there were canceled pavilions, boycotts protesting Israel and Russia\u2019s participation, and the jury\u2019s resignation. Kouoh\u2019s summons to take a deep breath and exhale was, to say the least, a challenging request.<\/p>\n<p> In the midst of this upheaval, two national pavilions in the Giardini \u2014 the Austrian and the Belgian \u2014 slice straight through the outside rumbling with boldly experimental and imaginative performances that demanded sustained attention. | Eur\u00eddice Arratia\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\tRead More<\/p>\n<\/div>\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:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/05\/dialogues.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>New Episodes Now Streaming<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Catch up on all ten seasons of\u00a0<\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Dialogues: The David Zwirner Podcast<\/em><\/i><span>\u00a0for conversations about what it means to make things today. Season 10 covers everything from Pee-wee Herman to the culture wars of the nineties, with interviews with Todd Haynes, Amy Sillman, Michael Armitage, and more. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                            Listen Now<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"feature\">Feature<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/05\/betye-saar.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><\/figure>\n<div>\n<h3>\n\t\t\tHow Betye Saar Set Black Dolls Free<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\n\t\tBetye Saar has been accumulating ephemera \u2014 taxidermied animals, cages, computer parts, and more \u2014 throughout her life. Since the 1970s, she has crafted these found objects into assemblage artworks that often subvert racist artifacts and images, beginning with her famed sculpture \u201cThe Liberation of Aunt Jemima\u201d (1972). \u201cI knew I could not avoid the pain, so it became part of my art,\u201d she said in 1973, as quoted in the monograph Black Doll Blues. | Jasmine Weber\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\tRead More<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"from-our-critics\">From Our Critics<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/05\/CS053-1-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><\/figure>\n<div>\n<h3>\n\t\t\tFor Ceija Stojka, Memory Is Survival<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\n      In an untitled landscape Ceija Stojka made in 1995, the sunset lights up an Austrian lake. Her family\u2019s traveling wagon is on the water and her kin is around the perimeter gazing at the scenery and fishing. Thick brushstrokes of acrylic on paper emphasize the immediacy of the idyllic memory. Throughout her memoirs, including <em>The Memoirs of Ceija Stojka, Child Survivor of the Romani Holocaust<\/em>, posthumously translated in 2022, Stojka equates the Romani tradition of living in horse-drawn wagons with natural splendor \u2014 sleeping outside, enjoying vistas, and hearing birds chirp \u2014 manifesting the culture\u2019s spirit of independence. Wagons themselves are a key symbol of sovereignty; the wheel even appears on the Romani flag. <\/p>\n<p>On view at the Drawing Center, <em>Ceija Stojka: Making Visible<\/em> showcases her self-taught practice and outsider perspective, both in the art world and as a Romani woman in Europe, through over 50 paintings and drawings. | Bryan Martin\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\tRead More<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h3>\n\t\t\tThe Invincible Spirit of Edmonia Lewis<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\n\t\t\u201cSometimes the times were dark and the outlook was lonesome, but where there is a will, there is a way,\u201d the Black and Indigenous sculptor Edmonia Lewis once said. The quotation, now printed and spotlit on a dark blue wall in the exhibition <em> Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone<\/em>, continues, \u201cThat is what I tell my people whenever I meet them, that they must not be discouraged, but work ahead until the world is bound to respect them for what they have accomplished.\u201d Lewis \u2014 who was born in Greenbush, New York, in 1844 and died in London in 1907 \u2014 is paid such respect in her first major retrospective at the Peabody Essex Museum, held over a century after the artist\u2019s death. | Sh\u00e1\u0144d\u00ed\u00edn Brown\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\tRead More<\/p>\n<\/div>\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:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/05\/1Jai-Perez-in-rehearsal--Photo-by-Daniel-Jackson-for-Embassy--Interactive--2.jpg\" alt=\"CTA Image\" data-image-dimensions=\"2000x1125\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content-inner\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-text\">\n<p><b><strong>ArtPhilly Presents \u201cWhat Now: 2026\u201d<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>The five-week city-wide festival will feature over 30 newly-commissioned works created by Philadelphia artists to spark important conversations about the future of the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                            Learn more<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"member-comment\">Member Comment<\/h2>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-callout-card kg-callout-card-yellow\">\n<div class=\"kg-callout-text\">&#8220;This offers such a powerful insight into the focus of a movement&#8211;that is, the movement itself, not any one individual, is important to the history of the movement and the context in history for this movement. Thank you, Elizabeth Ferrer, for so eloquently reminding us of this.&#8221;<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>C Joanne Grabinski on Elizabeth Ferrer&#8217;s <em>I\u2019m a Chicana Curator. This Is Why I Removed Cesar Chavez From My Show<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"icymi\">ICYMI<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/05\/Copy-of-041626MFANudeLaughing_063-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><\/figure>\n<div>\n<h3>\n\t\t\tNude Performance at MFA Boston Confronts One of Art\u2019s Oldest Tropes<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\n\t\tArtist Xandra Ibarra\u2019s \u201cNude Laughing\u201d sparks conversations about consent, viewer etiquette, art history, and the human body. | Rhea Nayyar\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\tRead More<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"from-the-archive\">From the Archive<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/05\/saar-announcement-card-2021-front-f-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1199\" height=\"675\"><\/figure>\n<div>\n<h3>\n\t\t\tFor Inspiration, Betye Saar Turns to Her Doll Collection<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\n\t\tSaar\u2019s irreverent paintings of dolls from her collection celebrate the catharsis she found in play. | Colony Little\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\tRead More<\/p>\n<\/div>\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\">Betye Saar\u2019s Birthday Present<\/h1>\n<p class=\"gh-article-excerpt is-body\">The assemblage artist donates her doll collection to the New York Historical, and we walk you through strong performance art at the Venice Biennale. <\/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:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/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=\"2026-05-26\">May 26, 2026<\/time><span class=\"gh-article-meta-length\"><span class=\"bull\">\u2014<\/span> 4 min read<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<section class=\"gh-content gh-canvas is-body\">\n<p>A nude performer dangling upside-down from a giant bell, clanging it on the hour. Another rolling perilously down bleachers, wearing a crumbling plaster skirt. And that isn\u2019t even to mention the porta-potties, which you\u2019re supposed to pee in to feed a massive tank in which a performer is submerged (the urine is filtered).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>These are scenes you might witness at this year\u2019s Venice Biennale. Performance is one of the strongest veins, and today, critic Eur\u00eddice Arratia walks you through Florentina Holzinger and Miet Warlop\u2019s displays at the Austrian and Belgian pavilions.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On this side of the Atlantic, meet iconic assemblage artist Betye Saar\u2019s \u201cfamily\u201d \u2014\u00a0a collection of Black dolls she\u2019s promising to the New York Historical on the occasion of turning 100(!). Of course, Saar would be the one giving a gift on her own birthday.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014Lisa Yin Zhang, associate editor<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/05\/euridice-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><\/figure>\n<div>\n<h3>\n\t\t\tPerformance Cuts Through the Noise at the Venice Biennale<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\n\t\tUnless you were attending a silent retreat the past few weeks, you already know that no other Venice Biennale in recent history has gotten off to a more fraught start than this year\u2019s. In May 2025, its artistic director,\u00a0Koyo Kouoh, passed away. Then there were canceled pavilions, boycotts protesting Israel and Russia\u2019s participation, and the jury\u2019s resignation. Kouoh\u2019s summons to take a deep breath and exhale was, to say the least, a challenging request.<\/p>\n<p> In the midst of this upheaval, two national pavilions in the Giardini \u2014 the Austrian and the Belgian \u2014 slice straight through the outside rumbling with boldly experimental and imaginative performances that demanded sustained attention. | Eur\u00eddice Arratia\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\tRead More<\/p>\n<\/div>\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:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/05\/dialogues.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>New Episodes Now Streaming<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Catch up on all ten seasons of\u00a0<\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Dialogues: The David Zwirner Podcast<\/em><\/i><span>\u00a0for conversations about what it means to make things today. Season 10 covers everything from Pee-wee Herman to the culture wars of the nineties, with interviews with Todd Haynes, Amy Sillman, Michael Armitage, and more. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                            Listen Now<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"feature\">Feature<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/05\/betye-saar.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><\/figure>\n<div>\n<h3>\n\t\t\tHow Betye Saar Set Black Dolls Free<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\n\t\tBetye Saar has been accumulating ephemera \u2014 taxidermied animals, cages, computer parts, and more \u2014 throughout her life. Since the 1970s, she has crafted these found objects into assemblage artworks that often subvert racist artifacts and images, beginning with her famed sculpture \u201cThe Liberation of Aunt Jemima\u201d (1972). \u201cI knew I could not avoid the pain, so it became part of my art,\u201d she said in 1973, as quoted in the monograph Black Doll Blues. | Jasmine Weber\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\tRead More<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"from-our-critics\">From Our Critics<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/05\/CS053-1-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><\/figure>\n<div>\n<h3>\n\t\t\tFor Ceija Stojka, Memory Is Survival<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\n      In an untitled landscape Ceija Stojka made in 1995, the sunset lights up an Austrian lake. Her family\u2019s traveling wagon is on the water and her kin is around the perimeter gazing at the scenery and fishing. Thick brushstrokes of acrylic on paper emphasize the immediacy of the idyllic memory. Throughout her memoirs, including <em>The Memoirs of Ceija Stojka, Child Survivor of the Romani Holocaust<\/em>, posthumously translated in 2022, Stojka equates the Romani tradition of living in horse-drawn wagons with natural splendor \u2014 sleeping outside, enjoying vistas, and hearing birds chirp \u2014 manifesting the culture\u2019s spirit of independence. Wagons themselves are a key symbol of sovereignty; the wheel even appears on the Romani flag. <\/p>\n<p>On view at the Drawing Center, <em>Ceija Stojka: Making Visible<\/em> showcases her self-taught practice and outsider perspective, both in the art world and as a Romani woman in Europe, through over 50 paintings and drawings. | Bryan Martin\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\tRead More<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h3>\n\t\t\tThe Invincible Spirit of Edmonia Lewis<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\n\t\t\u201cSometimes the times were dark and the outlook was lonesome, but where there is a will, there is a way,\u201d the Black and Indigenous sculptor Edmonia Lewis once said. The quotation, now printed and spotlit on a dark blue wall in the exhibition <em> Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone<\/em>, continues, \u201cThat is what I tell my people whenever I meet them, that they must not be discouraged, but work ahead until the world is bound to respect them for what they have accomplished.\u201d Lewis \u2014 who was born in Greenbush, New York, in 1844 and died in London in 1907 \u2014 is paid such respect in her first major retrospective at the Peabody Essex Museum, held over a century after the artist\u2019s death. | Sh\u00e1\u0144d\u00ed\u00edn Brown\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\tRead More<\/p>\n<\/div>\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:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/05\/1Jai-Perez-in-rehearsal--Photo-by-Daniel-Jackson-for-Embassy--Interactive--2.jpg\" alt=\"CTA Image\" data-image-dimensions=\"2000x1125\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content-inner\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-text\">\n<p><b><strong>ArtPhilly Presents \u201cWhat Now: 2026\u201d<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>The five-week city-wide festival will feature over 30 newly-commissioned works created by Philadelphia artists to spark important conversations about the future of the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                            Learn more<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"member-comment\">Member Comment<\/h2>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-callout-card kg-callout-card-yellow\">\n<div class=\"kg-callout-text\">&#8220;This offers such a powerful insight into the focus of a movement&#8211;that is, the movement itself, not any one individual, is important to the history of the movement and the context in history for this movement. Thank you, Elizabeth Ferrer, for so eloquently reminding us of this.&#8221;<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>C Joanne Grabinski on Elizabeth Ferrer&#8217;s <em>I\u2019m a Chicana Curator. This Is Why I Removed Cesar Chavez From My Show<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"icymi\">ICYMI<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/05\/Copy-of-041626MFANudeLaughing_063-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><\/figure>\n<div>\n<h3>\n\t\t\tNude Performance at MFA Boston Confronts One of Art\u2019s Oldest Tropes<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\n\t\tArtist Xandra Ibarra\u2019s \u201cNude Laughing\u201d sparks conversations about consent, viewer etiquette, art history, and the human body. | Rhea Nayyar\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\tRead More<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"from-the-archive\">From the Archive<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/05\/saar-announcement-card-2021-front-f-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1199\" height=\"675\"><\/figure>\n<div>\n<h3>\n\t\t\tFor Inspiration, Betye Saar Turns to Her Doll Collection<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\n\t\tSaar\u2019s irreverent paintings of dolls from her collection celebrate the catharsis she found in play. | Colony Little\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\tRead More<\/p>\n<\/div>\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>A nude performer dangling upside-down from a giant bell, clanging it on the hour. Another rolling perilously down bleachers, wearing a crumbling plaster skirt. And that isn\u2019t even to mention the porta-potties, which you\u2019re supposed to pee in to feed a massive tank in which a performer is submerged (the urine is filtered).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>These are scenes you might witness at this year\u2019s Venice Biennale. Performance is one of the strongest veins, and today, critic Eur\u00eddice Arratia walks you through Florentina Holzinger and Miet Warlop\u2019s displays at the Austrian and Belgian pavilions.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On this side of the Atlantic, meet iconic assemblage artist Betye Saar\u2019s \u201cfamily\u201d \u2014\u00a0a collection of Black dolls she\u2019s promising to the New York Historical on the occasion of turning 100(!). Of course, Saar would be the one giving a gift on her own birthday.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014Lisa Yin Zhang, associate editor<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/05\/euridice-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><\/figure>\n<div>\n<h3>\n\t\t\tPerformance Cuts Through the Noise at the Venice Biennale<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\n\t\tUnless you were attending a silent retreat the past few weeks, you already know that no other Venice Biennale in recent history has gotten off to a more fraught start than this year\u2019s. In May 2025, its artistic director,\u00a0Koyo Kouoh, passed away. Then there were canceled pavilions, boycotts protesting Israel and Russia\u2019s participation, and the jury\u2019s resignation. Kouoh\u2019s summons to take a deep breath and exhale was, to say the least, a challenging request.<\/p>\n<p> In the midst of this upheaval, two national pavilions in the Giardini \u2014 the Austrian and the Belgian \u2014 slice straight through the outside rumbling with boldly experimental and imaginative performances that demanded sustained attention. | Eur\u00eddice Arratia\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\tRead More<\/p>\n<\/div>\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:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/05\/dialogues.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>New Episodes Now Streaming<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Catch up on all ten seasons of\u00a0<\/span><i><em class=\"italic\">Dialogues: The David Zwirner Podcast<\/em><\/i><span>\u00a0for conversations about what it means to make things today. Season 10 covers everything from Pee-wee Herman to the culture wars of the nineties, with interviews with Todd Haynes, Amy Sillman, Michael Armitage, and more. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                            Listen Now<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"feature\">Feature<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/05\/betye-saar.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><\/figure>\n<div>\n<h3>\n\t\t\tHow Betye Saar Set Black Dolls Free<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\n\t\tBetye Saar has been accumulating ephemera \u2014 taxidermied animals, cages, computer parts, and more \u2014 throughout her life. Since the 1970s, she has crafted these found objects into assemblage artworks that often subvert racist artifacts and images, beginning with her famed sculpture \u201cThe Liberation of Aunt Jemima\u201d (1972). \u201cI knew I could not avoid the pain, so it became part of my art,\u201d she said in 1973, as quoted in the monograph Black Doll Blues. | Jasmine Weber\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\tRead More<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"from-our-critics\">From Our Critics<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/05\/CS053-1-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><\/figure>\n<div>\n<h3>\n\t\t\tFor Ceija Stojka, Memory Is Survival<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\n      In an untitled landscape Ceija Stojka made in 1995, the sunset lights up an Austrian lake. Her family\u2019s traveling wagon is on the water and her kin is around the perimeter gazing at the scenery and fishing. Thick brushstrokes of acrylic on paper emphasize the immediacy of the idyllic memory. Throughout her memoirs, including <em>The Memoirs of Ceija Stojka, Child Survivor of the Romani Holocaust<\/em>, posthumously translated in 2022, Stojka equates the Romani tradition of living in horse-drawn wagons with natural splendor \u2014 sleeping outside, enjoying vistas, and hearing birds chirp \u2014 manifesting the culture\u2019s spirit of independence. Wagons themselves are a key symbol of sovereignty; the wheel even appears on the Romani flag. <\/p>\n<p>On view at the Drawing Center, <em>Ceija Stojka: Making Visible<\/em> showcases her self-taught practice and outsider perspective, both in the art world and as a Romani woman in Europe, through over 50 paintings and drawings. | Bryan Martin\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\tRead More<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h3>\n\t\t\tThe Invincible Spirit of Edmonia Lewis<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\n\t\t\u201cSometimes the times were dark and the outlook was lonesome, but where there is a will, there is a way,\u201d the Black and Indigenous sculptor Edmonia Lewis once said. The quotation, now printed and spotlit on a dark blue wall in the exhibition <em> Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone<\/em>, continues, \u201cThat is what I tell my people whenever I meet them, that they must not be discouraged, but work ahead until the world is bound to respect them for what they have accomplished.\u201d Lewis \u2014 who was born in Greenbush, New York, in 1844 and died in London in 1907 \u2014 is paid such respect in her first major retrospective at the Peabody Essex Museum, held over a century after the artist\u2019s death. | Sh\u00e1\u0144d\u00ed\u00edn Brown\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\tRead More<\/p>\n<\/div>\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:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/05\/1Jai-Perez-in-rehearsal--Photo-by-Daniel-Jackson-for-Embassy--Interactive--2.jpg\" alt=\"CTA Image\" data-image-dimensions=\"2000x1125\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-cta-content-inner\">\n<div class=\"kg-cta-text\">\n<p><b><strong>ArtPhilly Presents \u201cWhat Now: 2026\u201d<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>The five-week city-wide festival will feature over 30 newly-commissioned works created by Philadelphia artists to spark important conversations about the future of the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>                            Learn more<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"member-comment\">Member Comment<\/h2>\n<div class=\"kg-card kg-callout-card kg-callout-card-yellow\">\n<div class=\"kg-callout-text\">&#8220;This offers such a powerful insight into the focus of a movement&#8211;that is, the movement itself, not any one individual, is important to the history of the movement and the context in history for this movement. Thank you, Elizabeth Ferrer, for so eloquently reminding us of this.&#8221;<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>C Joanne Grabinski on Elizabeth Ferrer&#8217;s <em>I\u2019m a Chicana Curator. This Is Why I Removed Cesar Chavez From My Show<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"icymi\">ICYMI<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/05\/Copy-of-041626MFANudeLaughing_063-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><\/figure>\n<div>\n<h3>\n\t\t\tNude Performance at MFA Boston Confronts One of Art\u2019s Oldest Tropes<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\n\t\tArtist Xandra Ibarra\u2019s \u201cNude Laughing\u201d sparks conversations about consent, viewer etiquette, art history, and the human body. | Rhea Nayyar\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\tRead More<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"from-the-archive\">From the Archive<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/2026\/05\/saar-announcement-card-2021-front-f-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1199\" height=\"675\"><\/figure>\n<div>\n<h3>\n\t\t\tFor Inspiration, Betye Saar Turns to Her Doll Collection<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\n\t\tSaar\u2019s irreverent paintings of dolls from her collection celebrate the catharsis she found in play. | Colony Little\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\tRead More<\/p>\n<\/div>\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:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/size\/w600\/2026\/05\/balasubramanian_2400x1350.jpg\" alt=\"Art-Science Undisciplined: A Playbook for Transformative Collaboration\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"gh-card-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"gh-card-title is-title\">Art-Science Undisciplined: A Playbook for Transformative Collaboration<\/h3>\n<p class=\"gh-card-excerpt is-body\">Artist Janani Balasubramanian and astrophysicist Natalie Gosnell reimagine collaboration through a values-based and joyfully undisciplined practice.\n<\/p>\n<footer class=\"gh-card-meta\"><span class=\"gh-card-author\">University of California Press<\/span><\/footer>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article class=\"gh-card post\">\n<figure class=\"gh-card-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/size\/w600\/2026\/05\/CMoG_Image_5.png\" alt=\"Tough Stuff: Women in The American Glass Studio\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"gh-card-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"gh-card-title is-title\">Tough Stuff: Women in The American Glass Studio<\/h3>\n<p class=\"gh-card-excerpt is-body\">Highlighting works from the 1960s through today, this survey at the Corning Museum of Glass celebrates the legacies of women artists who helped shape the Studio Glass Movement in the US.\n<\/p>\n<footer class=\"gh-card-meta\"><span class=\"gh-card-author\">Corning Museum of Glass<\/span><\/footer>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article class=\"gh-card post\">\n<figure class=\"gh-card-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/size\/w600\/2026\/05\/Still-in-Sound_reverbimpulses_CSM.jpg\" alt=\"Still in Sound\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"gh-card-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"gh-card-title is-title\">Still in Sound<\/h3>\n<p class=\"gh-card-excerpt is-body\">Sound artists compose sonic and multisensory interpretations of abstract paintings for this new exhibition at the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver, Colorado. <\/p>\n<footer class=\"gh-card-meta\"><span class=\"gh-card-author\">Clyfford Still Museum<\/span><\/footer>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article class=\"gh-card post\">\n<figure class=\"gh-card-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/51\/f8\/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a\/content\/images\/size\/w600\/2026\/05\/1Jai-Perez-in-rehearsal--Photo-by-Daniel-Jackson-for-Embassy--Interactive-.jpg\" alt=\"ArtPhilly Presents \u201cWhat Now: 2026\u201d\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"gh-card-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"gh-card-title is-title\">ArtPhilly Presents \u201cWhat Now: 2026\u201d<\/h3>\n<p class=\"gh-card-excerpt is-body\">The five-week city-wide festival will feature over 30 newly-commissioned works created by Philadelphia artists to spark important conversations about the future of the United States.\n<\/p>\n<footer class=\"gh-card-meta\"><span class=\"gh-card-author\">ArtPhilly<\/span><\/footer>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/betye-saars-birthday-present\/&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;&#8221;] Daily Newsletter Betye Saar\u2019s Birthday Present The assemblage artist donates her doll collection to the New York Historical, and we walk you through strong performance art at the Venice Biennale. Hyperallergic May 26, 2026\u2014 4 min read A nude performer dangling upside-down from a giant bell, clanging it on the hour. Another [&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-1957564","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\/1957564","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=1957564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1957564\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1957564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1957564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1957564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}