Fashion Politics
From Beyoncé’s Black Panther-inspired Super Bowl look to Hillary Clinton’s parade of pantsuits, 2016 was the year clothing became political. As The New York Times’s fashion critic Vanessa Friedman writes, “wardrobes spoke as loudly as any words (and in turn spurred a lot of them).”
[The New York Times]
Making History
The American Institute of Architects has awarded its 2017 Gold Medal to Paul Revere Williams, the first African American to receive the prize. Williams joins the ranks of 72 notable recipients, including Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn.
[Architectural Record]
Eastern Expansion
London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) has revealed plans for a new gallery in China designed by architectural firm Maki and Associates. V&A acting director Tim Reeve sees the move as “a new way of engaging more deeply with China at a pivotal moment in its design history.”
[Blouin Artinfo]
Designated Driver
After a successful trial run in Pittsburgh earlier this year, Uber’s driverless cars will soon begin picking up passengers in San Francisco. Each SUV will have a “safety driver” and Uber engineer onboard to observe—and, if needed, take over.
[TechCrunch]
Silicon Valley Spin-Off
Google plans to move its self-driving car division into Waymo, a new stand-alone company within the Alphabet portfolio. “It’s an indication of the maturity of our technology,” said John Krafcik, Waymo’s new chief executive.
[Forbes]
Out of Print
After two decades of weekly publication, The New York Times has ended its Inside Art column. The dispatch, once the go-to resource for art market aficionados, has been replaced by a column dubbed Show Us Your Wall.
[ArtNews]