Art Writer Robin Cembalest

Throughout her career, Robin has covered the people, places, and trends shaping the art world. Following is a non-chronological sampling from Robin’s hundreds of publications.

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Between a Cross and a Hard Place

The controversy over the removal of a four-minute David Wojnarowicz video from the “Hide/Seek” exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery had observers wondering whether the culture wars were back—and whether anything could be done to stop them.

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The Obscenity Trial: How They Voted to Acquit

Why did eight jurors in Cincinnati trial decide that the Mapplethorpe photographs they considered "gross and lewd" are not obscene? "We felt that we had no choice, one juror told Robin. "We learned that art doesn't have to be pretty”

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150 Years of the Yale School of Art

On its 150th birthday, the Yale School of Art maintains its standing and mystique as incubator and launchpad for innovators and thought leaders, honoring its legacy by continually evolving with the times.

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Goodbye, Columbus?

As multiculturalism becomes a catchphrase of the '90s, art institutions are doing a lot of soul searching—about their audiences, their staffs, their exhibitions, and their perspective.

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The Guggenheim’s High-Stakes Gamble

Thomas Krens' vision of the Guggenheim's international empire is so ambitious that

even he doesn't expect all o f his projects to come to fruition. The museum's critics are skeptical, calling it misguided. Its supporters say it is merely misunderstood

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Native American Art: Pride and Prejudice

Outdated images of Indians abound in museums and the art market. As the Native American community fights to transcend those stereotypes, museum policy, scholarship, and Indian art itself are changing radically.

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Capital Dilemma

It took five years to pass a law that paves the way for a possible National Museum of the American Latino. Now the real debate begins.

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Gender Bender

Where are the great men artists? The story of the famous cover of the ARTnews October 1980 issue.

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