ART CRITIC LORI WAXMAN GUARANTEES BRIEF, SERIOUS REVIEWS TO ALL ARTISTS ON A FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED BASIS.

The short review is at once a challenge, an insult, a record, and a piece of advertising. Its purpose is debatable and arguably quite different for the various parties involved: the writer gets a tear sheet, a couple of bucks, and some editorial gratification; the reader, in the best case scenario, gets a succinct, opinionated description of a body of work they probably did not see in person; and the artist gets published recognition and an entry for their bibliography. But think, for a moment, of the artist who has been reviewed carelessly, who has never been reviewed, who lives in a city where there is little local criticism…

Installed in various venues throughout the U.S., critic Lori Waxman receives artists in need of reviews. Reviews are scheduled and written in twenty minute increments between the announced hours only. Reviews are signed, published, and ready for pick-up within the time frame of the performance. Artist, artwork, critic, and review all exist in the same space simultaneously.

Reviews are free of charge, and are guaranteed to take the artist and artwork seriously. Critics are not meant to be cheerleaders or educators or advertisers; they are opinionated, thoughtful, informed commentators. Or so they try.

UP NEXT: 60 wrd/min art critic: Red Line Service Edition

October 5, 1-7 PM, Chicago Art Department, 1926 S. Halsted

Red Line Service supports artists who have experienced or are experiencing homelessness. At this free public event, Lori Waxman will write reviews of their work, to be published afterwards in the Chicago Reader. For more information, visit the RLS website.

ARE YOU A FOREIGN ARTIST? DO YOU NEED A REVIEW FOR YOUR O-1 VISA APPLICATION?

The “60 wrd/min art critic” is available. Reviews are free of charge and are written on an as-needed basis.

Completed reviews will be published in the Chicago Reader.

To schedule an appointment, email critic@60wrdmin.org. Please include "O-1 visa project" in the subject line.

OUT NOW: Lori Waxman's book, Keep Walking Intently: The Ambulatory Art of the Surrealists, the Situationist International and Fluxus, is now available as an ebook from Sternberg Press, Berlin.

OUT NOW: Lori Waxman's book, Keep Walking Intently: The Ambulatory Art of the Surrealists, the Situationist International and Fluxus from Sternberg Press, Berlin. Available in the U.S. from amazon.com and at local bookstores.

OUT NOW: THE 60/WRD MIN ART CRITIC BOOK. SEE ONESTAR PRESS WEBSITE FOR DETAILS.

The 60 wrd/min art critic was funded by a Warhol Foundation | Creative Capital Arts Writers Grant from 2008 through 2024