“Should public museums be places where political argument happens?” asks Randy Kennedy. “Why is this so rarely the case, especially when compared with politically engaged programming in museums” elsewhere in the world?

New York art dealer Francis Naumann has donated documents from the seminal 1913 Armory Show—which introduced artists like Marcel Duchamp to American audiences—to the Smithsonian. Worth $200K, the papers include a ledger noting every art sale related to the show.

“Suddenly, the press dares to criticise contemporary art,” writes Jacob Willer, and while some of the ire is aimed at artists like Damien Hirst and Anish Kapoor, “the most pointed criticism has been directed less at the art than the art market.”

Hand-painted signmaking is alive and well in Minnesota, according to the new book Sign Painters (Princeton Architectural Press), which features locals from Mazeppa’s Mike Meyer to Minneapolis’ Forrest Wozniak (May Day Cafe) and Phil Vandervaart (Hymie’s Records).

NY-based artist Paul Chan says the most interesting thing he did while waiting out Sandy was “field calls and texts asking if I was okay and if I needed help … from New Orleans.” In 2007, he staged Waiting for Godot on the streets of post-Katrina NOLA.

With Hurricane Sandy hammering the East Coast, the American Institute for Conservation is preparing to aid art and historical institutions affected by the superstorm. They’re offering free emergency response assistance to cultural organizations.

River of Fundament, Matthew Barney’s forthcoming project, is loosely based on Norman Mailer’s 1983 novel Ancient Evenings. Starring Paul Giamatti and Maggie Gyllenhaal, it includes “a barge outfitted with a mysterious replica of Mailer’s New York home.”

New York-based Hyperallergic’s readers poll of favorite flood-themed artwork has Superflex’s Flooded McDonalds (part of our 2011–2012 Absentee Landlord show) trailing Banksy’s I Don’t Believe in Global Warming.

In TAR magazine, Economist arts writer Sarah Thornton offers 10 reasons she’ll no longer report on the art market, from “It implies that money is the most important thing about art” to “It gives too much exposure to artists who attain high prices.”