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.