Follow the writers
Arts journalism that kept me grounded in 2024
Hello and happy New Year!
I have been having conversations with friends of late, and I bet you are, too, that start with a question that goes something like this: “How can we remain engaged with the world and media?”
It’s understandable. American democracy is undergoing a significant stress test, and journalism feels broken despite the valiant work of journalists. So much is pouring out of our screens and devices, algorithmically driven spaces designed more for entertainment and profit than a shared sense of truth.
The simple act of discerning where to place our attention can feel overwhelming.
I have no easy answers for this, but I do have a recommendation: Follow the writers. For years, I’ve kept lists of writers whose bylines I seek out, regardless of where they appear, especially when the churn of headlines and soundbites becomes counterproductive.
If this notion appeals to you, let me recommend the remarkable work of Rabkin Prize winners to you and, for that matter, arts writers in general. It is not always the White House reporters who are best equipped to help us make sense of society and ourselves. Arts writers, at least the very good ones, are in the thick of it.
Some of the arts journalism that kept me grounded and engaged in 2024 included Siddhartha Mitter’s epic profile of Theaster Gates, Imani Perry’s exploration of the blues in Lorna Simpson’s work, Hrag Vartanian’s rare conversation with Lucy Lippard, Coco Fusco’s daring essay about Carl Andre, Rebecca Solnit’s celebration of David Graeber’s optimism, Carolina Miranda thinking aloud about artists surviving autocracy and Magdalena Suarez Frimkess, and Ben Davis’ discussion with Anna Korbluh about immediacy and his thoughts on the big Siena show at the Met. It included TK Smith’s embodied and vulnerable review of Malcolm Peacock, Hilton Als on Suzanne Jackson, Robin Givhan on Nell Irving Painter, Emily Watlington on the legacy of Ana Mendieta, Carl Little on Tessa Green O’Brien, Cassie Packard on “precarious joys,” Aruna D’Souza on the surprise of performance at The Met, and Lori Waxman on Chicago’s radical art pedagogy.
I was nourished, too, by Joe Fyfe’s tale of a cohort of artists who have returned to Vietnam amid patriotism and suppression, Jessica Lynne’s conversation with Aisha Sabatini Sloan, Nakeysha Roberts Washington’s reflection on her ancestors and the landscape of Milwaukee, Roberta Smith’s insight about ancient art sometimes feeling modern, Sarah Rose Sharp’s homage to an artist’s unflinching exploration of her aging body, Harmony Holiday’s review of the late rapper Ka’s final and “viciously gentle” album, Annette LePique’s excavation of the uncanny horror of JK Chukwu, and, yes, yes, OK, Jerry Saltz’s list of beloved Instagram accounts.
A YEAR IN READING
We can count on Rabkin Prize winners for thoughtfulness. So much so that our foundation was inspired to initiate a new tradition in 2024: A Year in Reading. We invited several prize winners to share some of their best reads of the year, including at least one piece of great arts writing, and a picture of the intimate spaces where they read. You will want to check out the project at our Substack A Year in Reading page, but here are a few teasers:
Jarrett Earnest told us about a read that introduced him to new things: Dispersed Events, a book of essays by Nick Mauss (After 8 Books, 2024). This volume of criticism stood out as it “charts expansive new paths of interconnected modernisms,” Jarrett said, from the brilliant analysis of Madame Grès gowns to the embroidery of Nicholas Moufarrège, among many others.
Sarah Rose Sharp told us what had her rethinking art history: Monsters (Vintage, 2023), Claire Dederer's book about what to do with great art made by bad people.
Seph Rodney told us what tapped into emotions he’s been wrestling with this year: TikTok and Instagram reels. It was the year he fell in love with them, he said. The Healing from Pain: Taking Back Your Power TikTok from @phd_doc_troyc helped him put his relationship with his father in perspective, and another from comedian Jimmy Carr helped him on some tough days.
Amanda Fortini had a pick to recommend to other arts writers: Greg Gerke’s essay “The Response to Art is Everything,” published in Liberties. “Artworks don’t want to be solved,” Gerke writes, “They want to be lived in.”
Darryl Ratcliff told us about something he watched that shook him up: Katt Williams’ interview with retired NFL tight end Shannon Sharpe on the podcast Club Shay Shay that started 2024 by melting the internet. Beyond the behind-the-scenes reveals and Hollywood gossip were some wonderful sequences about writing, commitment to craft and personal ethics. A masterclass for anyone who conducts interviews, Darryl said.
Travis Diehl told us about something that made him question his life choices: The Overstory by Richard Powers (W. W. Norton & Co., 2018). He said it’s helpful to see how other writers wrestle with forces beyond the scope of art critics to fix: social media, geopolitics, environmental collapse. This is writing as agency, Travis said.
Darla Migan told us about something that was a balm and that she’d recommend to other writers: David Joselit’s Art’s Properties (Princeton University Press, 2023). She called it an “urgent primer on the history of art as it pertains to self-possession” and said she’d recommend it to anyone who wants to know why art matters.
Annette LePique told us about a read that was a balm: Rosalind Brown’s novel, Practice (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2024), a narrative that takes place during a single day for an Oxford scholar named Annabel. Slowly and patiently the story unfolds like a bloom, Annette said.
Jennifer Huberdeau told us about a read that was old, a little obscure and delicious: The Employees by Olga Ravn (New Directions, 2022). It’s an eerie tale of a human/android space crew told through the ship’s remaining records.
MY FILM IN MAINE
For those of you who are here in Maine and would like to see my documentary about art critics, Out of the Picture, it will screen at the Portland Museum of Art at 6 p.m. on Jan. 10. The screening will be followed by a discussion about the future of arts writing, including in Maine, with Hrag Vartanian, editor of Hyperallergic; Jorge Arango, Maine’s most visible art critic; and Megan Gray, an arts and culture reporter at the Portland Press Herald. I will moderate. You can grab tickets here.
Thank you for your presence here.
Warmly,
Mary Louise Schumacher
Executive Director
The Dorothea and Leo Rabkin Foundation
Such wonderful and insightful recommendations. I’ve listened to all your Rabkin interviews and learn so much. Thank you. Happy New Year to you!