On the shore of the Great Salt Lake, Robert Smithson's "Spiral Jetty" is a huge earth and rock sculpture created in 1970. And as it turns out, it's sitting next to a big stash of oil at Rozel Point.
Art and nature lovers are up in arms about the possible damage to the shoreline that could result if bits go into the ground--even though the work site will be five miles from the sculpture. But others believe the natural (or unnatural) evolution of the site is part of Smithson's artistic vision.
After all, the Spiral Jetty was submerged for decades after its creation thanks to a rise in the lake's water level. Only recently re-revealed, its interaction with the environment is a critical part of the project. Would that make any nearby oil rigs art too?
Sure, Cinco de Mayo is just a few months away, but for a dose of real Mexican culture, head to the country's capital for the Festival de Mexico. In its 24th year, the festival celebrates both past and present artists, writers, dancers and architects for two weeks in March. Though the festival's current site is down, last year's site gives a rundown of the festival's events. In addition to performances by local musicians, composer Yann Tiersen (famous for scoring the movie Amelie) played a show in 2007.
Because the event celebrates Mexican culture, don't expect an English version of the festival to cater to US tourists. (So brush up on your Spanish.) Or to get a shot of Mexican creative culture at its finest--and in English--head to the Museo Frida Kahlo in the city's Coyoacan area, where they hold English-language tours daily. You'll visit the painter's home and studio and see one of the largest collections of her work in the world.
So, skip Cancun and take in one of Latin America's most architecturally and visually rich cities. The DF may have its fair share of smog, but even the thickest layers of dirt can't mask its dramatic cultural traditions.
Like pretty much everything else in the city, Art Basel Miami Beach is loud, proud, overpriced and decked out in white. Still, it's one of the top parties on the international art circuit. If you are a jet-setter or just want to play one for a weekend, there's no place else you should be December 6 to 9.
An extension of the celebrated Art Basel show in Switzerland, the Miami Beach version inundates 200 galleries with the work of 2,000 artists and the attitudes of countless more buyers and hangers-on. Snatching up the hottest stuff from the bleeding edge of contemporary art is important but so too is hanging around eating canapes. (Or not eating canapes, depending on whether you have a modeling contract.)
One of the best venues is "Art Positions", a collection of shipping containers set up as galleries right next to the beach. New York's PS1 is organizing the DJs, films will play under the stars and on the eve of the event, December 5, a rollicking concert will kick things off.
You don't have to stay at home just because the leaves are changing. Follow along on our Fall Culture Map to discover what's happening this autumn.
We ducked into the Museum of Modern Art on Sunday to check out opening day of Georges Seurat: The Drawings. The show is about how Seurat turned his formal training and his experiences in and around Paris into now-famous paintings like A Sunday on La Grande Jatte. (You'll remember it as the painting that Cameron wants to see in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.)
We picked up the little audio guide, which was free, but it didn't really add anything we couldn't figure out by looking at the drawings. Because most of the drawings are done with the same media (Conte crayon and handmade paper), you can really focus on how Seurat created his figures and scenes rather than the materials he used. There were lots of art lovers drawing in sketchbooks while we walked through.
Near the back of the exhibit hall, we discovered some drawn and painted studies for La Grande Jatte. After the drawings, we weren't too keen on the paintings, but if you're not gonna see the renowned work at The Art Institute of Chicago anytime soon, these are great substitutes.
If you get the itch to do some drawing after the show, don't buy your art supplies at the museum gift store. Just a few blocks away, Lee's Art Shop has multiple floors of goodies. Pencils in hand, head for Columbus Circle, where an always interesting cast should provide some inspiration.
Despite the name, Woodstock didn't happen at that small town in New York. The original counter-culture concert series played out on a farm in Bethel, where the locals are excited about the soon-to-open Museum at Bethel Woods. The site is already home to a performing arts center, and the museum should join the party by next spring. Just don't call it a hippie museum, says Republican town supervisor Harold Russell:
This is the farthest thing from a hippie museum that anything could be. I personally take a little offense to that.
And while the arts center did host a "Hippiefest" this summer, the museum plans to take a more serious tack with exhibits and multimedia displays that recall the end of the flower child era. With Baby Boomers retiring in droves, the Woodstock museum will surely find an audience.
Or so thought the two senators from New York, Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer, who pushed for a $1 million earmark to help finance the project, though the Senate later denied that request. One of the lawmakers who voted against spending the money, Senator Norm Coleman, says that shouldn't keep folks away:
I was at Woodstock. I have been to the site of the Woodstock museum. It's a wonderful museum. That doesn't mean the government has to pay for it.
A Swedish insect fanatic is taking Shanghai by storm with his elaborate concerts featuring hundreds of crickets. While the bugs chirp and hum, Lars Frederikkson and his bandmates play traditional Chinese music, harmonizing with the critters. Concerts at the city's science and technology museum draw crowds, though Frederikkson admits that, in the end, he's just conducting a band of crickets:
I don't have any high pretensions for this. I just want people to be peaceful, enjoy it and think about what a terrible fate it would be for mankind not to have crickets.
On the other side of the globe, artist Mike Dory is bringing his version of crickets to New York City. A sort of audio graffiti, the disguised devices (like the one above) let out chirps, beeps and half-songs as people walk by. Get too close, and the sounds stop. Dory says he's just trying to bring some fun and serendipity back to the urban street-scape, and we're all for that.
When you think of Puerto Rico, art isn't always the first thing that comes to mind. That is all about to change. Apparently Puerto Rico's art scene is flourishing and new, local galleries are opening up everyday.
Check out Galeria Botello. Owned by the son of famous metal sculptor Angel Botello, it's a treasure trove for local artisans (above piece is made from rice). Or try the Canvas Art Gallery which features local artists as well as the work of international talent.
If you can't spend a day in the galleries, just take a walk around San Juan and admire the public art works on walls and buildings. The Puerto Rico Public Arts Project has made huge efforts to transform public areas with commissioned projects.
When you think of Puerto Rico, art isn't always the first thing that comes to mind. That is all about to change. Apparently Puerto Rico's art scene is flourishing and new, local galleries are opening up everyday. 
