A Glimpse Inside the Dizzying Psyche of Daniel Johnston

A drawing by Daniel Johnston (image courtesy Daniel Johnston Trust, all others Maya Pontone/Hyperallergic) I was in my second year of college when I first heard about the alternative folk artist Daniel Johnston. It was the fall of 2017, two years before his death, and...

The Poetic Optimism of Latina Lesbian Activism

MONTEREY PARK, California — “EN CADA BESO UNA REVOLUCIÓN” “LESBIANAS. UNIDAS. ¡FELICES!” Such battle cries embody the poetic optimism of Latina lesbian activism across borders at the Vincent Price Art Museum’s On the Side of Angels. Captured by posters for marches in...

Memory Becomes Form in the Art of Candida Alvarez

Candida Alvarez’s Circle, Point, Hoop at El Museo del Barrio gets its title from a 1996 collage-painting by the artist. The understated work — a dark blue circle adorned with white string threaded through nails — is a stark contrast to the vibrant mosaics of color...

A Paean to the Bygone “Borscht Belt”

LOS ANGELES — From the 1920s to ’60s, the Catskill Mountains, with its woody resorts and bungalows, were a playground for middle-class Jewish families traveling Upstate from New York City. Dads grilled while lounging mothers shielded beehive hairdos from their...