Matthias Merkel Hess
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merkelhess.bsky.social
Matthias Merkel Hess
@merkelhess.bsky.social
Artist and educator in NYC, mostly ceramics
Reposted by Matthias Merkel Hess
Chic hits #1 today in 1978 with “Le Freak”, a song originally titled “F**k Off!” — and written after the band was turned away by the bouncers at Studio 54.

“We go back to my apartment really pissed off,” said Nile Rodgers, “and Bernard starts singing, ‘Ahhh, f**k off!’ .. and that became the hook.”
December 10, 2025 at 12:01 AM
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Lee rose to prominence with Projects, her now-iconic series documenting her immersion into various demimondes: skateboarders, punks, yuppies, lesbians, hip-hop fans, high-school students, seniors. Lee used performance to negotiate the construction of gender, race, and the self.
Nikki S. Lee Stays in the Picture
She was a rising star in New York’s late-’90s art world—then she walked away. Can the artist reinvent herself in Seoul?
aperture.org
November 23, 2025 at 9:37 PM
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A few months ago @thelocal.to got a promising pitch from a writer with bylines in whole bunch of reputable publications—The Cut, The Guardian, Dwell, Architectural Digest, etc. Then I started investigating. Here's a story about fabulists in journalism's AI slop era. thelocal.to/investigatin...
Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local
A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.
thelocal.to
November 19, 2025 at 2:10 PM
The Artist Who Makes Clay Look Like Navels, Nipples and Vertebrae www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/t...
The Artist Who Makes Clay Look Like Navels, Nipples and Vertebrae
www.nytimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:38 PM
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Roy Lichtenstein, Ten Dollar Bill, 1956 www.nga.gov/artworks/763...
November 17, 2025 at 12:51 AM
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November 14, 2025 at 1:20 AM
Timo Fahler at Sebastian Gladstone gallery in Tribeca
November 8, 2025 at 12:06 PM
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November 6, 2025 at 4:03 PM
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. @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social dropped in on many online microfandoms to conquer the fragmented media problem, including a personal favorite of mine, the streamer who walks around New York making beats for strangers to freestyle to @ariathome.bsky.social
November 4, 2025 at 3:13 PM
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November 4, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Made the NYT election live blog after voting
November 4, 2025 at 2:30 PM
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Medicine Container (Nkhoba) https://www.artic.edu/artworks/185710/
October 28, 2025 at 8:45 AM
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October 27, 2025 at 3:17 PM
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For #InternationalSnowLeopardDay :
Insignia Badge with Snow-Leopard Decoration
Korean, Chosŏn dynasty, 19th c.
H. 21.5 x W. 18.8 cm (8 7/16 x 7 3/8 in.)
Harvard Art Museums 2002.254:
harvardartmuseums.org/collections/...
#SnowLeopardDay
October 24, 2024 at 12:57 AM
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Opening Oct 17 2025 at Art Cake in Brooklyn, NY
October 10, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Detail of a new stoneware 5 gallon bucket. See it next week Oct 2-4 at the new Split Level Art Fair in Manhattan with Morgan Lehman Gallery.
September 26, 2025 at 4:32 PM
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Happy Friday to our fellow #FindsFriday enthusiasts! 🏺

This week has left us feeling like this 18th c. BCE Syrian figurine...
September 19, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Always an honor to work with Studio Valle de Valle on their projects. We collaborated on this fireplace surround and I also made the tiles for the table. Honored to see it on the cover of AD
September 3, 2025 at 1:47 PM
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Be dazzled!
Charles Burchfield, "Gateway to September", 1945-1956, Watercolor on joined paper, 42 1/2" x 56"
September 1, 2025 at 2:20 PM
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This story has it all: aquaculture, Black Flag, Bernie Sanders, Star Trek as policy, John Hodgman, male tears, and a candidate citing Luthen’s monologue from Andor.

Meet Graham Platner, the Maine oysterman trying to crack the senate. @grahamformaine.bsky.social

newrepublic.com/article/1996...
The Political Awakening of the Oyster Farmer Gunning for Susan Collins
Graham Platner’s campaign launch has been a sudden sensation. But what he’s building now is rooted in the work of a lifetime.
newrepublic.com
August 29, 2025 at 11:52 AM
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Vessel in the Form of an Animal with Four Legs and Long Tail https://www.artic.edu/artworks/22350/
August 27, 2025 at 9:53 AM
My kid did the scavenger hunt today with a friend. So cool! Still in high school and he was out knocking on doors during the primary too.
August 24, 2025 at 10:49 PM
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ABC 7 is here, and I saw the NY Times talking to folks too.

It’s just unbelievable what a savvy (and fun!) idea this scavenger hunt was on the part of the Mamdani campaign.

#ZcavengerHunt
August 24, 2025 at 10:01 PM
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Handle Spout Vessel in the Form of a Seated Man Carrying a Jar https://www.artic.edu/artworks/3631/
August 21, 2025 at 3:46 PM