Today is December 2nd. On this day in history, St Paul’s Cathedral is consecrated in London (1697); Napoleon Bonaparte is crowned Emperor of France (1804); The U.S. President James K. Polk proposes that the country aggressively expand into the West, as Manifest Destiny (1845) – this concept born out of “a sense of mission to redeem the Old World by high example…generated by the potentialities of a new earth for building a new heaven,” according to historian Frederick Merk.
Today in more modern history, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency begins operations (1970), the same agency where more recently Scott Pruitt, one of the most outspoken anti-environmentalists was placed at its head (2017); who during his tenure mistook the agency’s objectives for that of a coalition for corporate interests; and later resigned having become the subject of over a dozen federal investigations into allegations of legal and ethical violations (2018). “Destiny of God,” as Pruitt himself would have put it.
December 2nd is the birth of Georges Seurat, French post-impressionist painter (1859) and Otto Dix, German painter and illustrator (1891). It is the death of Philip Larkin, English poet, author, and librarian (1985) and Marquis de Sade, French philosopher and writer (1814), from whom we derive the words sadist and sadism.
Welcome to December. Welcome to the 106th edition of Prescriptions. Here is our review of the week in the arts.
Boris Mikhailov
The Space Between Us / Boris Mikhailov
Displaying a strong influence by the political and social changes while also representing an important contemporary voice, this exhibition of Boris Mikhailov assembles numerous series of works spanning 1965 to today. On view through February 9, 2020 at Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden.
Edward Weston, Nude, 1936
Masters of Photography 2019
The 4th edition of Huxley-Parlour Gallery’s annual exhibition Masters of Photography will include over 30 masterworks spanning the history of the medium. Artists include Edward Weston, William Klein, Irving Penn, Josef Koudelka, Cindy Sherman, and Joel Meyerowitz, among others. Through December 20, 2019 at Huxley-Parlour Gallery.
Ornella Mazzola / Females
Elimination of Violence
The U.N. General Assembly designated November 25th as International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and began the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, running to December 10, Human Rights Day. We featured some women artists who have inspired and created in the art world, including Analia Saban, Rineke Dijkstra, Sophia Al-Maria, Cig Harvey, Ornella Mazzola, Helen Cammock, and Senta Simond, among others.
Fritz Scholder
Let Us Now Give Thanks
Last week was Thanksgiving and we survey some contemporary Native American art, featuring works of Fritz Scholder, Frank Buffalo Hyde, Merritt Johnson, Nicholas Galanin, Wendy Red Star, Will Wilson, and the artist collective Postcommodity.
Stephanie Foden
30 Under 30 Women Photographers
We just closed the submissions for the 11th annual 30 Under 30 Women Photographers 2020 which will round out 11 years and 330 photographers who will have joined the ranks since its founding. Stay tuned as we announce the selections of the 2020 group, January 1, 2020.
Alex Hubbard
The Corner of the Table
Regen Projects presents Alex Hubbard’s paintings which combine the language of abstraction with nontraditional, industrial materials, along with installations of handmade projectors streaming videos. On view through December 21, 2019 at Regen Projects, Los Angeles.
Joel Meyerowitz
PROFILES
Alex Hubbard’s paintings which intrigue in The Corner of the Table at Regen Projects; Fritz Scholder and the artist collective Postcommodity surveyed in our Thanksgiving feature Let Us Now Give Thanks; Boris Mikhailov with his photography and photo montages in The Space Between Us at Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden; Vanessa Beecroft, Helen Cammock, Ekaterina Anchevskaya, Sally Mann, Vivian Maier, Emma Portner, Chantal Joffe, and Dorothea Lange among others surveyed in Elimination of Violence, our feature for International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women; and Reintroducing some heavy-weights, Edward Weston, William Klein, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Irving Penn, Josef Koudelka, Cindy Sherman, Andy Warhol, Bruce Davidson, and Joel Meyerowitz, among others, as part of Masters of Photography 2019 at Huxley-Parlour Gallery.
