Courtesy H&J Kandl

Johanna Kandl, Untitled (opium) (2002). Tempera on wood, 28 x 12 in.

December 2008 Field Guide

Anri Sala

Predrive:After Technology

Javier Ramirez Limon

Indian Art

Mark Manders

Klara Liden

Andre Kertesz: On Reading

Ron Arad

Pipilotti Rist

Transpop: Korea Vietnam Remix

Looking In: Robert Frank's The Americans

Ree Morton

Emotional Drawing

Olaf Breuning Johanna Kandl When in Mexico City for… Zona Maco Art Checks In When in Miami for... Art Basel Miami Beach The Era of the Five-Minute Decision Is Over Editor's Picks: Frieze Art Fair Preview

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Tradition versus modernity (or "trad vs. mod" for those in the know) has for some decades been a globally ubiquitous conflict. Poking a bit of fun at its many tensions is this clever, ambitious exhibition, curated by Toby Maier, which places traditions of folklore, myths, holidays, and tribal customs alongside the modernity of our noisy, alienated, Wi-Fi world. Rather than wring their hands over this dialectical struggle, artists including Honey-Suckle Company, Jim Shaw, Olaf Bruening, Kostuem Total, Dani Jakob, and Nicole Wermers wield humor through songs, performances with homemade instruments, costumes, cliched holiday celebrations, and folksy installations. Rumor has it that visitors in lederhosen get in for free. "Experimenta Folklore" originally appeared in the December 2008 / January 2009 issue of Modern Painters. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Modern Painters' December 2008 / January 2009 Table of Contents.