In curating the 2013 Venice Biennale, Massimiliano Gioni isn’t creating an “anti-Biennale,” as Francesco Bonami put it. With The Encyclopedic Palace, he’s aiming for “a temporary museum more than simply a show that captures the supposed zeitgeist.”

I have just returned from a Merce Cunningham-related research journey to Japan, where I visited the Sogetsu Art Center’s archives at Keio University in Tokyo, and the Kyoto Costume Institute, among many other places.  While I reacquaint with this time zone and prepare a more thorough reflection, enjoy these images:  

Our friends at Creative Time Reports have posted an open call for original photography of public spaces—whether Zuccotti Park, Tahrir Square, or Oscar Grant Plaza—before, during, or after major political events or social struggles.

Jay Dockendorf has been noticing curious graffiti on sculpture placards at Pratt Institute—adding missing apostrophes, correcting typos, tightening language. “Somehow the poorly edited placards make the sculptures better,” he says, “by encouraging critical thinking.”

Themed “Punk: Chaos to Couture,” the Met Ball saw the real deal in attendee Vivienne Westwood. Instead of donning era-appropriate zippers and pins, the fashion designer showed up with a laminated photo of Army whistleblower Bradley Manning with the word “truth.”

The Walker’s Painter Painter exhibition reflects “the current vogue for the open-ended, dialogic,” writes Christina Schmid. “Yet what Nicolas Bourriaud has dubbed the ‘culture of courtesy’ ensures that moments of genuine friction remain rare.”

Thomas Hirschhorn’s Gramsci Monument, to run July 1 thru Sept. 15, will host a range of activities—including a radio station—from a structure on the grounds of a Bronx housing development. The Dia-backed project is the last of his philosopher-based monuments.

What challenges, expectations, and new possibilities does digital culture and social media present to contemporary art institutions? Barcelona-based curatorial office Latitudes (Max Andrews and Mariana Cánepa Luna) continues its ongoing #OpenCurating series with a conversation about culture and connectivity with former Rhizome director and current New Museum curator Lauren Cornell.