July 2023 Issue: Mary (Digital Edition)

The Fire Right Now Gary Simmons fights the power at the MCA "Since the late 1980s Simmons has played a key role in situating questions of race, class and identity at the center of contemporary art discourse. Drawing heavily on popular genres such as hip-hop, cult horror, cartoons and science fiction, he exposes and analyzes histories of racism deeply rooted in the U.S. visual culture. Sports, cinema, literature, music, architecture and urbanism—nothing is off limits in Simmons’ effort to make a point: the perpetuation of white supremacy is alive and well." (Vasia Rigou) Hoosier Savior? A sort-of Christian theme park in Indiana "The shrine is an impressive sight, built with roughly 200 semi-truckloads of boulders from Wisconsin, used to create a Holy Land-like landscape. Over a thousand trees and bushes were planted. There are fifteen Stations of the Cross featuring forty life-sized bronze sculptures by Texas-based artist Mickey Wells, each weighing 300 to 700 pounds.There’s dramatic ba