Andrew Moya > Recent Status Updates

Key takeaways from the reading
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- “Contemporary Design”
- Does “Black Aesthetic” in Design exist?
- “addressing the unique cultural experience”
- Black inspiration is a powerful force attributed to the success of many artists (black and non black alike)
- Cubism is Black? (It is, sort of)

I often debate on reading the Forward when starting a new book. This one has two and they were both worth the read. It preps your mind for how to think about the material that’s ahead. Design is a part of power dynamics, a part of mass communication, it’s subtle with immeasurable effect. This book is for those who have the bandwidth to think critically.

Auctions and Conservators: this is where the monetary value, motive behind politics, and status comes into play. It seems like there are people who truly care about the integrity of art in these fields though which is good. This really rounds out the infrastructure of these artistic institutions.

The business of Art Advising is more structured than I thought

Biggest take away is that painting & sculpture are the biggest mediums of the art world. To rub elbows with big names in this world you have to speak this language. “There was a Pollock of ketchup on the wall” will get you further than “the food looked like it was straight from Miyazaki (Studio Ghibli)”, depending on who you talk to.

The chapter on Art Online is probably my least favorite thus far (I haven’t finished it yet) but does give interesting insight on the author and the platform Artsy, there are some good resources in here too.

I didn’t think I’d like the chapter on Art School, (a prestigious art school is a train I planned on taking but watch go by) but it revealed layers that make me think about my place in the art world more intentionally (more than I already was).

Many interesting things were brought up. Whitney Biennial 2026 here I come.

Take away: Disingenuous art recognized in performative collections can’t stand on their own on an international stage, the work needs to go deeper.

Things are starting to connect for me.

Koyo Kouoh (curator from Dakar, Senegal) spoke about how her job isn’t to educate about Africa, “I’m not here to educate people who are lazy”, and touched on how others’ ignorance about your roots doesn’t give you the right to be ignorant on those roots, “But the ignorance of Africans about Africa itself is a tragedy”. She then says her job is to mend that tragedy through art. And THAT stuck out.