12/23/2009

The Story of Herbert and Dorothy Vogel

"He was a postal clerk. She was a librarian.With their modest means, the couple managed to build one of the most important contemporary art collections in history. Meet Herbert and Dorothy Vogel, whose shared passion and commitment defied stereotypes and redefined what it means to be an art collector."

"They've collected more than 4,000 pieces over 45 years and recently worked with the National Gallery of Art to loan 50 works to one public art institution in each state. The collection is known primarily for its minimal and conceptual art and has drawings, paintings, sculpture, prints, photographs, and illustrated books." -AP

Local Pitch: The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection is at the Weisman!http://www.weisman.umn.edu/exhibits/Vogel/home.html

Check out the YouTube Trailer of the movie:

Egypt to Demand Return of Nefertiti Statue From Germany

“Egypt will demand the return of Queen Nefertiti’s bust from Berlin as the diary of the archaeologist who discovered it shows that he misled authorities when it was transferred abroad, the antiquities authority said.” - Bloomberg

Field Museum Offers Special Display Case Package for Marriage Proposals

“Neelam Patel couldn't believe it when she saw her boyfriend, Neal Patel, reach his hand into a case at the Field Museum and grab the diamond ring sitting inside…” – Chicago Tribune

Microbial Art

“Einstein in E. coli, an apple tree grown from fungi and a fluorescent Mario are just some of the masterworks cast in agar jelly by creative microbiologists, on display at http://www.microbialart.com/”– New Scientist

Ahmadinejad Replaces Head of Art Academy for Regime-Friendly Poet

“Iran's Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution announced late Tuesday that it had removed opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi from his position as head of the Academy of Arts, apparently at the behest of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.” – LA Times

12/16/2009

Out West

You might have heard it mentioned on The Tonight Show yesterday... the exhibit at the Autry "examines the history of homosexuals and transgender people in the Old West." -LA Times

Oldest Known Santa Figurine Found
"Archaeologists working in Akron, Ohio, claim to have found the world's oldest three-dimensional representation of Santa Claus. Known as the "Blue Santa," the object was made circa 1884 by The American Marble & Toy Manufacturing Company, which burned to the ground in 1904. The figurine is 2.5 inches tall." -Discovery.com

Louvre Returns Five Frescos to Egypt

"French President Nicolas Sarkozy presented one of the slabs, or steles, to his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak, who was on a visit to Paris. The Egyptians had demanded the return of the Pharaonic fragments and had broken off ties with the Louvre." -BBC

Caravaggio Work Burned By Mafia

"A lost painting by Caravaggio which art lovers have long hoped might still be found was burnt and destroyed by the Mafia, according to a former hitman turned pentito (informer). The painting, Nativity with Saints Francis and Lawrence, was stolen from the oratory of San Lorenzo in Palermo in 1969. Its whereabouts since then have remained a mystery despite investigations not only by police but also by scholars and art lovers." -UK Times

Gabriel Orozco Slideshow: MoMa Retrospective

A look at the Mexican artist The New Yorker once hailed as "The leading conceptual and installation artist of his generation." - NY Times

The Hirshhorn Balloon
"For the last several months the newly appointed director of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Richard Koshalek, has been quietly at work on a plan to erect a 145-foot-tall inflatable meeting hall that would swell out of the top of the internal courtyard of the museum, which sits on the Mall midway between the White House and the Capitol." - NY Times

12/09/2009

The Turner Prize Winner Decided

(Above: 2009 Winner Richard Wright)

"The Turner Prize, named after the painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist under the age of 50. Awarding the prize is organized by the Tate gallery and staged at Tate Britain. Since its beginnings in 1984 it has become the United Kingdom's most publicized art award. Although it represents all media, and painters have also won the prize, it has become associated primarily with conceptual art." - yanked from wikipedia

• Read the history of the prize here.
• Take a look at the NY Times slideshow of the front runners here.
• Check out a critic's round-up on the winner this year here.

MoMA Staff See Pay Freeze, Reduced Benefits

Some current struggles at the MoMA, after investments take an 18% hit. Also a focus on the history of labor troubles there, with mention of the 134 day strike in 2000.

New $100,000 Art Prize For Artists Under 35

Announced by The Victor Pinchuk Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 2006 by its namesake Ukrainian billionaire and art collector.

Chicago Architects Create Gingerbread Houses for Charity

Exactly what the title says, but with some photos. Blueprints are also available if you're so inclined...

Chicago Court of Appeals Weighs Destruction of Public Art

While we're on the topic of the windy city... “The plaintiff is artist Chapman Kelley, whose Wildflower Works, a 1.5-acre garden in the part of Grant Park known as Daley Bicentennial Plaza, was deliberately hacked up by the Park District five years ago. In a mixed decision last year, a U.S. District Court ruled against Kelley's claim that Park District officials violated his rights as an artist when they shrank and changed his work so drastically as to make it unrecognizable.”

RISD Director “Forced Out”

An article out of Boston titled "Nightmare at the museum". A good look at the politics behind the shuffle at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art.

Australia Denies North Korean Artists Visas

As part of the UN block on travel from North Korea to influence nuclear policy. Here's a BBC article on the topic.

Rembrandt and Raphael Set Records at Christie's

Selling for $32.9 mil and $29.2 mil.

12/02/2009

Former Guggenheim Bibao Financial Director Sentenced to 32 Months in Jail for Theft of $750,000.

Because being the Financial Director at the Guggenheim didn't earn him enough money...

Researchers "Clone Original Pigment Colors" of DaVinci's Last Supper

Reconstructing the original look of the famous fresco.

Google Puts Iraq Museum Online

Google will create a virtual copy of the museum at its own expense, which will be available early next year.

Art Council Feeds the Hungry

A great idea here. Local artists in Vermont donate works of art for an online auction to support the Vermont FoodBank. (They raised $10,254 last year.) You can bid online @ www.vermontartscouncil.org.

Science Museum Extends Titanic Show

They'll never let go, Jack. They'll never let go.

Paris Museums Closed Due to Employee Strike Over Hiring Practices

Ooh la... what? I have to wait? The Louvre joined in this morning.