Roundup: Rachel Dolezal’s art, a lost tepee, Ornette Coleman’s L.A. connection

The art of Rachel Dolezal (with video). A lost tepee found in Oklahoma. Former MOCA director Jeffrey Deitch’s connection to an unsavory real estate developer. Ornette Coleman’s L.A. roots. Plus: the typographer behind dingbats, a six-story Ed Ruscha to make its return, and architects called on to consider social concerns in their work.

— Rachel Dolezal, the former president of the Spokane, Wash., NAACP, who many thought was black, but is alleged to be white, is an artist. And she has a YouTube video in which she talks about money and art in the company of a ginormous glass of white wine. Plus one of her canvases, “The Shape of Our Time,” happens to bear more than a passing resemblance to J.M.W. Turner’s “Slave Ship,” which was recently on view at the Getty. This whole thing is simply mystifying. (@okamax, @jolieishere)

— Artifacts related to the ancient ruins of Palmyra — including a beautifully sculpted bust of a woman — have been put on view at the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C.

— A lost Kiowa tepee re-emerges in Oklahoma City.

— The second poorest city in America lies 60 minutes from Los Angeles: a stirring report about San Bernardino by my colleague Joe Mozingo, with incredible pix by Francine Orr.

— Speaking of which, the Ford Foundation is changing its grant-making program to focus on issues of inequality.

— When art serves as reputation laundering for a sketchy developer: the case of Jeffrey Deitch’s street art show in Coney Island.

— Muralist Kent Twitchell will be repainting the 70-foot portrait of Ed Ruscha in Los Angeles. After it was accidentally whitewashed in 2006, Twitchell sued and won a $1.1 million settlement.

— The typographer who designed the typeface used in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. — as well as Zapf dingbats — died last week. Hermann Zapf’s very worthwhile obituary.

— Jazz saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman, who also died last week, had a connection to Jackson Pollock. The story mentions Pollock’s distaste for the avant garde jazz of his era in favor of swing bands and other more traditional acts. (For those who are interested, Museum Music put together a compilation of music from Pollock’s record collection that serves as a good sampler of his tastes.) Plus: a very interesting piece on KCET’s Artbound about Coleman’s early years in L.A.

— Times critic Christopher Knight has a look at the Charles Ray sculpture the Whitney Museum was too afraid to install.

— Art in America once commissioned artists to make needlepoints. Is it wrong to covet one of those Frank Stella pillows? (Weisslink)

— What the Noah Purifoy show at LACMA can contribute to the national conversation on race. Nice piece by LA Weekly’s Catherine Wagley.

— In the wake of McKinney: the ways in which issues of race have played out in American swimming pools.

— Compendiums of interesting photography: Valerio Bispuri’s photographs of the most notorious South American prisons and Ignacio Evangelista’s images of the U.S.-Mexico border wall.

— As guests at the Architects Journal awards ceremony in London kicked back champagne, protesters rained manifestos written on paper airplanes calling on architects to think about the social consequences of their work. (Subscription may be required.)

— I know a favorite L.A. sport is to go bananas any time the New York Times covers our city. But that’s what happens when you live in a world-class town. Also, imagine how Brooklyn feels.

— Gustavo Arellano has an interesting piece on Spanish-language insults geared at new Mexican immigrants and their connection to Los Bukis crooner Marco Antonio Solís. (For the record: I will confess to singing along to “Si No Te Hubieras Ido” at top volume whenever given the opportunity.)

— Speaking of language issues, are women disproportionately penalized for vocal fry and uptalk?

— How Drawn & Quarterly made a name for itself championing the work of female comic book artists. (ArtsJournal)

— Last but not least, a Tumblr that tracks all-male panels at seminars around the world using David Hassellhoff. Handy.

Find me on Twitter @cmonstah.