Category Archives: Art

Frontiers and Deadwood as Geography

Posted on August 22, 2012 by Teo Ballvé

A piece titled “Deadwood as History” by Anne Hyde in Foreign Affairs on the historical content (or lack thereof) of HBO’s Deadwood begins: “All Westerns are stories of people attempting to impose order on a chaotic, lawless, and savage environment.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Boundaries, Frontiers, Henri Lefebvre, Historical-Geographies, Law, Political Ecology, Primitive Accumulation, Race & Ethnicity, Spatiality, Violence | Comments Off on Frontiers and Deadwood as Geography

Interweb Motley # 2

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Teo Ballvé

RIP Carlos Fuentes, who in reference to Latin America’s colorful cast of dictators, wrote: “All of them pose a tremendous problem for Latin American novelists. How to compete with history? How to create characters richer, crazier, more imaginative?” The government … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Law, Political Economy | 1 Comment

Holy Hatchet Job

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Teo Ballvé

In the literary world, a book review with this caliber of snarkiness and bite is known as a “hatchet job.” The review opens: “In disgust research, there is shit, and then there is bullshit. Colin McGinn’s book belongs to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Critique | Comments Off on Holy Hatchet Job

Interweb Motley #1

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Teo Ballvé

Inaugurating a new weekly installment of worthy links from around the Internet is this week’s “Interweb Motley.” Benjamin Kunkel reviews Paper Promises by Philip Coggan and Debt by David Graeber for the London Review of Books. (Kunkel, a rising Marxist “rapporteur” … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, City, David Harvey, Media, Networks, Political Economy, Race & Ethnicity, Science & Tech., Security, Violence | Comments Off on Interweb Motley #1

The Branding of U.S. Development Aid

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Teo Ballvé

In my journalistic investigations, I’ve given the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) a hard time for negligently funding the agribusinesses of drug-trafficking paramilitaries as part of its anti-drug efforts. Right, it’s like “War on Terror” money going to al-Qaida, … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Art, Drugs, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Land, Media, The State, Violence | Comments Off on The Branding of U.S. Development Aid

1000 Pesos and Fidel Castro

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Teo Ballvé

I couldn’t pass this up. It turns out that the artist commissioned to design Colombia’s 1,000-peso bill slyly included a portrait of a young Fidel Castro in the background of the bill. It took eight years for anyone to notice … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Maps, Nation/Nationalism, Spatiality | 1 Comment

Meow: The Politics of Anonymous

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Teo Ballvé

Quinn Norton, a writer with Wired, has published a fascinating three-part series titled, “Anonymous: Beyond the Mask” (Part I, Part II, Part III). She tracks the progressive politicization of Anonymous from its diaper days chatting on 4Chan to #Occupy by … Continue reading →

Posted in #Occupy, Art, Bandits, Critique, Everyday Life, Illegality, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Law, Networks, Pirates, Science & Tech., Spectacle | 1 Comment

#Occupy Poster Art

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Besides being a personal obsession of mine, poster art has a long history in radical movements for social change. I’m particularly interested in how images and art are able to communicate AND generate solidarity across social and geographical divides. One … Continue reading →

Posted in #Occupy, Art, Networks | 4 Comments