February 2024 Issue: 38th Anniversary Issue (Digital Edition)

Inside the Church of Pope.L How the iconic artist's death affected his friends and disciples “'He was profoundly invested in the lives of his students and his colleagues and his close friends here,” says artist Theaster Gates. 'Through his teaching and through his friendships and mentorship and extended paternalism—in the best way—he was a father to a lot of people in the arts'.” (Alison Cuddy) Worlds Remade The state of art in Kansas City "Before long, Country Club Plaza’s tile roofs and flowery mosaics had attracted thousands of visitors. Nichols’ fabulism and willingness to create new cultural realms remains an animating principle for current exhibits near Kansas City’s Plaza Area: when the status quo stinks, make your world anew." (Charles Young) In the Cathedral of Sculpture The last days and years of Richard Hunt "By December 2020—exactly three years before the end of his life—he had made enough impact for a dozen lifetimes, and was still going strong. Then death took