The focus group is a good allegory for democracy under capitalism. On one side of the two-way mirror—which offers narcissistic mirroring for those solicited for opinions—everyone is permitted to have and express their individual discriminations. This “all-ears” invitation obscures the fact that the choices with which we are presented are manufactured, limited, and can only be met with individualized notions of taste: “I like this color best; he seems like a nice person; nuh-uh, too… [read more »]

The Gagosian Doesn’t Want you to See this Image. There is a big silver-grey painting, or perhaps a piece of metal, that could be mistaken for a carpet covering the back wall. There is a pink walrus on a low plinth. There is a scrap metal sculpture on a pedestal around the corner. Two women are cleaning the art fair booth. One, on the right, holds a vacuum cleaner hose and looks with a faint… [read more »]

Sarah Lookofsky: I feel compelled to start with some ads that pop up on my Facebook page on a daily basis: a mixture of Roy Lichtenstein lookalikes and model-y people—all with lips slightly agape and searching looks on their faces—summoned to lure me to apply for art school with the promise of generous grants. I haven’t bothered to figure out what is actually on offer (they don’t seem to detect that I am already rather… [read more »]