Mike Bouchet

12/07/11

• 1

  Ren & Stimpy by Jim Lewis

  Issue 9, March–April 1993

  On Nickelodeon. 'This television show, which is still the most expensively produced animation series to date, captured and compressed a particular vernacular in its first few episodes. It was also interesting to see how a corporation could turn it from an intense cult favourite into a program a bored child wouldn’t watch so quickly.'

• 2

  Young Meat by Matthew DeBord

  Issue 30, September–October 1996

  McDonald's doesn't want your Kids, do you? 'I think that there should be a whole review section on advertising in every art magazine, just as exhibitions are reviewed monthly. This article is a good example. Although any kid over the age of 11 can de-construct an ad, there are forces at work that escape easy explanation and reflect on enormous cultural mind frames.'

• 3

  Francis Picabia by Laurie Attias

  Issue 30, September–October 1996

  Centre Pompidou, Paris. 'Even by 1996, Picabia's main body of paintings wasn’t that well known outside of certain circles. He was known for his Dada associations and mechanical paintings. As a student I saw an exhibition of his late-career paintings in a hotel lobby in Paris alongside very questionable Salvador Dalí lithographs.'

• 4

  Erase and Rewind by Bruce Hainley

  Issue 53, June–August 2000

  On Elaine Sturtevant. 'It’s difficult for me to clearly speak about why I like Sturtevant’s work so much, but I always felt her to be an artist's artist and its great to read an explanation of her work that avoids an easy interpretation.'

• 5

  Shop Talk by Amanda Sharp

  Issue 74, April 2003

  Visiting Prada and Moss with Haim Steinbach. 'This interview with Haim Steinbach about retail spaces is great on a number of levels: the discussion of art and retail display could be its own university department if you ask me. I’ve always felt that shopping is an important act of art-making. To get some impression of how this very particular and omnipresent phenomenon is interpreted by Steinbach is valuable. There should be more interviews with artists about popular contemporary culture.'

• 6

  A Theory of Relativity by Jennifer Higgie

  Issue 92, June–August 2005

  What is slow? 'The slowing of time is an important aspect of what distinguishes contemporary art from contemporary entertainment.'

• 7

  The Art of War by Eyal Weizman

  Issue 99, May 2006

  The Israeli Defence Forces have been heavily influenced by contemporary philosophy, highlighting the fact that there is considerable overlap among theoretical texts deemed essential by military academies and architectural schools. 'Eyal Weizman’s deep look into military practices is profound – an interpretation of Gordon Matta-Clark that few people saw coming.'

• 8

  John Bock by Amanda Coulson

  Issue 111, November–December 2007

  Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Germany. 'This review does a great job of capturing Bock’s group of films. It explains many of the subtleties and nuances, as well as the general overview of this exhibition of his films without the usual film writing discourse or art world mumbo-jumbo.'

• 9

  The Colour of Money by Nancy Spector

  Issue 112, January–February 2008

  Is a booming market bad for art? 'Although this article leaves a lot to be desired, I think it’s an important topic to bring up, particularly in the pages of a commercial art magazine, which seem to feel more and more like trade magazines. My feeling is that this is a topic on a lot of peoples’ minds.'

• 10

  Christian Jankowski by Burkhard Meltzer

  Issue 120, January–February 2009

  Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, Germany. 'This was a really crazy show, so I’m just glad someone reviewed it properly, and did a good job of explaining the show physically and what was going on with the ideas behind it.'

• 11

  Everything Must Go by Jennifer Allen

  Issue 139, May 2001

  The problems of storing art. 'I have big storage problems, so it’s nice to read about other peoples’ problems with storage. I also feel like this has been a discussion that is kept in closed circles: 1. Artists speak to other artists about it in a particular way (part worry/part brag) 2. Gallery people talk to other gallery people about it (misery loves company) 3. Museum people talk to other museum people about it (strictly administrative).'

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