A1one: mural on the Tehran-Karaj Expressway, Tehran 2007 (image courtesy www.kolahstudio.com)

• Hrag Vartanian has a terrific interview with Iranian street artist A1one on the ArtCal Zine

• The New York Review of Books has just republished Norman Mailer's coverage of the 1968 party conventions for Esquire. I have only ever read "Superman Comes to the Supermarket" from these writings.

Bonus image from sent by, not by Jay Blotcher, of Jay Boy Greetings:

Matthew L. Miller installation view at the New York Academy of Art MFA diploma exhibition

• Visit another day, another word, a web project by the artist Jesse Hamerman. Warning: sound!
• On Wednesday, head to Pocket Utopia in Bushwick for the salon celebrating the current artist-in-residence Matthew L. Miller. I love his modern take on classical painting. The images above are self portraits. Things should start 6ish.
• Go see Utopia / Dystopia at Leslie Tonkonow. We went to see Tracey Baran, Julia Oschatz, and Ian Davis, but the work of Ali Banisadr was the discovery that made it all come together.

Kendrick Mar
Tell Me, 2006
oil on canvas, 34 × 36 inches

I haven't been blogging about art because I find it difficult to look at art when it's this hot outside. The galleries I want to go to (as opposed to the behemoths with retail-quality a/c) can get pretty warm during these weather conditions.

Here are some recommended actions, regardless of the heat. You should also check out what the other Culture Pundits bloggers are posting.

Visit Kendrick Mar's website to check out his art. His artist statement says:

My work is metaphorical self-portraiture that addresses childhood emotions and trauma. Issues surrounding memory, family dysfunction and being adopted manifest strongly in my work. Children's books and television programs present a collective narrative in which grown-ups care for the best interests of their children. The pernicious disparity between this fiction and the brutal reality of childhood is the terrain I am most interested in exploring.

I found him via the Culture Pundits Artists program.

Listen to excellent music from Chiapas and Oaxaca via the widget below, or buy the CD.

Go see the Joao Ribas-curated show at Andrew Kreps before it closes Friday.

Attend Over The Opening on Friday, July 18th, from 7 to 10pm -- new installation by Dana Strasser and Isabella Bruno.

Put it in your calendars. You know any group that honored James and me at the last one has excellent taste.