Art Basel , which modestly bills itself as the most important art show in the United States, doesn’t officially start until tomorrow. But  the party is already on,  and photos of the art, videos of artists and up-to-the-minute details of the early festivities on this Miami Herald web page. (How up-to-the minute? How detailed? Lance Armstrong was spotted in the last hour with entourage.)

Those who find the flash a bit shallow can check out Huffington Post, where Elizabeth Bard is back from interviewing artists in Oran, Algeria and thinking art critics should be somewhere else this week. “There are still places on this planet where art does something other than sell,” she notes.