Portable Gray 13: The United States of Criticism

The Richard and Mary L. Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry at the University of Chicago is pleased to announce the release of the thirteenth issue of Portable Gray, a publication that draws on the work of the Gray Center, a research center for experimental collaborations between artists and scholars. The theme for our fall issue is The United States of Criticism, which covers a variety of forms of criticism from art criticism to music criticism; parafictional-art history to video game criticism;  artists  whose practices are a form of criticism to skateboard criticism; eco-criticism to the critical scene in Chicago today. This issue continues our reviews section, Portable Gray Review (PGR).

Editor’s Plaisance 
Zachary Cahill

Chicago Critic’s Table​
Adrienne Brown, Saroop Singh, Meralis Alvarez-Morales, Rikki Byrd, Zaria El-Fil, Britt Julious, and Regina Victor

Portable Gray Review (PGR) 
John Boskovich: Rude Awakening at Bodenrader, Chicago
Thomas Love

Talking Shit and Making Meaning
Ted Barrow and Sam Korman discuss the role of criticism in skateboarding

Material Empathy​
Joel Kuennen

Portable Gray Review (PGR) 
Nicole Eisenman: What Happened at the MCA Chicago
Erik Wenzel

Two in One​
Lauren O’Neill-Butler on Judgment and the Conversation that Takes Place in the Mind of the Art Critic 
Zachary Cahill

Against the Written Word​
Ian F. Svenonius in conversation with Stephanie Cristello

Portable Gray Review (PGR) 
Fire! Testament, album from Rune Grammofon, 2024
Matthew Metzger

On Criticism: Studying How We Are Together​
William Ayers, Adam Bush, Lisa Yun Lee, Fred Moten, and Michael B.

Art is a Tool to Confront Reality:
9 Questions for Thomas Hirschhorn on Art and Criticism 
Zachary Cahill

Our Literal Speed​
Our Literal Speed

Chicago, Mon Jardin d’Amour​ 
Self-critical notes of a comparative critique 
Paula Kamps, translated by Alta Price

Portable Gray Review (PGR) 
Lanna in Motion: Spirit and Voice of Nature, performance at the Royal Thai Consulate-General Chicago
Regina Victor

Needle in a Haystack​
Peter Margasak

Portable Gray Review (PGR) 
Museum of Post-Punk and Industrial Music
Jennifer Smart

Gaming Islam​
A conversation with Ghenwa Hayek and Alireza Doostdar
Ashlyn Sparrow

The Function of Bitching, at the Present Time
Dieter Roelstraete

Upcoming issue 
Pope.L: The Chicago Years

Executive Editors: Leah Feldman and Seth Brodsky / Editor-in-Chief: Zachary Cahill / Senior Editor: Mike Schuh / Managing Editor: Naomi Blumberg / Contributing Editor: Sabrina Craig/ Editor-at-Large: Stephanie Cristello / Design: David Khan-Giordano / ISSN 2637-8361.

About the Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry 
The Richard and Mary L. Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry is a forum at the University of Chicago for experimental collaborations between artists and scholars. Gray Center activities take place all over campus (encompassing various divisions, departments, and programs), across the community, throughout the city, and beyond. Through its various programs—including the Mellon Residential Fellowships for Arts Practice and Scholarship, exploratory research initiatives, the monthly Sidebar conversation series, Gray Sound, an experimental music and sound performance series, international conferences, and institutional collaborations—the Gray Center seeks to foster a culture of innovation and experimentation at the intersection of arts practice and scholarship.

For press inquiries: Rebecca Daniel Mottley, rebecca [​at​] mottleypr.com.

Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry 
929 E. 60th St. 
Chicago, Illinois 60637 
United States