As the art blogosphere continues its rapid expansion, a heterogeneous array of creative and critical perspectives is reaching audiences worldwide. Whether locally or globally focused, individually or collaboratively authored, mono or multilingual, the art blogs of the moment are eclipsing traditional forms of commentary, exploiting the boundlessness of cyberspace to diversify our notions of art and the art world.

Providing the lowdown on local happenings, city- and country-specific art blogs serve as insider guides. The Puerto Rico-based Rotund World combines scene-setting imagery with humorously detailed reports of goings-on within the country, while Detroitarts surveys the Midwestern metropolis, covering gallery shows, student exhibitions, and everything in-between. London is well-represented by the Guardian's art and architecture blog, while signandsight.com covers the European scene by translating cultural highlights from foreign newspapers into English. Paddy Johnson holds down the New York fort with Art Fag City, posting "art news, reviews, and gossip" by the hour.

Globally generated, Artworld Salon began as an email chain between three art enthusiasts based in Zurich, Beijing, and New York and has since developed into an intercontinental "think tank" that critically appraises the art world. The collaborative impulse also runs through the ANP Quarterly magazine blog, which splices together posts on art in LA and throughout the US by founders Brendan Fowler, Aaron Rose, and Ed Templeton. Although the authors of MuseoPropaganda and the Vienna-based VVORK remain enigmatic, their blogs espouse the collective spirit via provocative juxtapositions of photographs, video, digital images, and installation shots by named and anonymous artists.

Taking a more personal stance, Russian-born artist Slava Mogutin's radical blog rails against censorship and other forms of oppression, retaliating with explicit imagery and tips on gallery shows, often by seminal gay artists. Artist and songwriter Momus couples intimate, catty musings with full-on critiques of artistic trends. Journalists and writers have their say as well; CultureGrrl features the life and art-related opinions of seasoned cultural critic Lee Rosenbaum, while DC's Grammar.police foregrounds the cerebrally witty anecdotes of writer/editor Kriston Capps.

There's something for everyone in the blogosphere. Specialty blogs such as Swapatorium allow ephemera addicts to congregate virtually, while others like Minus Space, which focuses exclusively on minimal art, or Gravestmor, a Sydney-based architectural digest, hinge on genre. So does Streetsy; its mission is to amass the "largest curated street-art site on the web," and the blog boasts daily uploads of work from Santiago to Reykjavik.

For those who don't speak the language, pictures can approximate the story. Among the most illustrative non-English art blogs are those of Beijing-based artist and feminist Cao Fei, Amateur D'Art "Par Lunettes Rouges" out of Paris, and Lars Vilks, whose blog is written from the artistic, allegedly independent country of Ladonia in southern Sweden.

-SK