How Empowerment Became a Purchasable Product

Originally used by social workers to encourage marginalized communities to rise up from poverty and oppression, the term “empowerment” has taken on completely different definitions in recent years. It’s been transformed into a mass-marketing tactic—especially when pertaining to women—flaunted by corporations (like the #StrengthHasNoGender campaign from Brawny paper towels, a company owned by Koch Brothers who have spent millions funding anti-abortion programs) with the sole …

Paula Crown’s Multi-Sensory “Bearings Down” Exhibition

Artwork damaged during transport leads to an immersive installation in Dallas

As with all globally acclaimed art fairs, some of the best work can be spied at tangential showcases. This holds true for Chicago-based multimedia artist Paula Crown‘s “Bearings Down” exhibition. For anyone venturing to the Dallas Art Fair this weekend, a stop at The Goss-Michael Foundation is well worth the time. Crown has assembled an immersive installation that taps into multiple senses via mixed media. …

Jambinai: They Keep Silence

Almost an antithesis to manufactured K-pop is South Korean band Jambinai, who use their country’s traditional instruments to rock out with intensity as seen in their music video for experimental metal track “They Keep Silence.” Eun Youg Sim vigorously plucks the large geomungo to establish the bass line; on Bomi Kim’s knee is the wailing haegeum, bowed sort of like a cello—later breaks out into …