A new six-volume compendium and a searchable scholarly website, both dedicated to all of Vincent van Gogh’s letters, “will undoubtedly reshape the landscape of van Gogh scholarship and the image of the artist long held by the public.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
Sundance Skews Artsier Under New Director
“Sundance has always made risky selections. … But as independent film boomed over the last decade, the festival at times showed a willingness to give premiere slots as favors to studios or put too much emphasis on advance buzz from sales agents and scouts when making selections.” John Cooper, the festival’s new director, “is trying to address such criticism.”
Paintings Seized By US Marshals, Police At Art Basel Miami
“[F]ollowing an insurance dispute between two dealers,” paintings by Fernand Leger, Joan Miro, Edgar Degas and Yves Klein “were confiscated from the fair at the convention center in Miami Beach, Florida, about 90 minutes before the V.I.P. opening at noon for thousands of invited guests.”
Govt. Document: Should UK Libraries Sell Books, Too?
A new document on the future of libraries in the UK “advocates reforms to the library service up to and including everything from Lovefilm-style delivery, national online borrowing and the ability to return a book wherever you are. … In the document, [arts minister Margaret] Hodge raises the prospect of libraries being allowed to sell books as well as lend them.”
Archaeologists Dig At Site Of Shakespeare’s Final Home
“They hope to discover remains of clothing, documents and even household waste. The dig is at New Place, where he lived from 1597 until his death in 1616.” The team leader said: “It is very possible we can find parchments if the conditions in the grounds are as good as we’re hoping.”
Let’s Focus On The Art, Not The Artists’ Lives
“The images hold you; the ongoing lives of the artists rarely do. And yet, the entire system of art today is geared towards the idea of the individual creative genius. Never has the myth of the artist been more powerful.”
South Coast Rep Hosts A Smaller Neighbor
The prominent regional theatre “is opening its house to an outside production by another Orange County theater. … David Emmes, South Coast’s producing artistic director, sees the run as a ‘pilot project’ that could lead to further imports of shows mounted by the county’s small theaters.”
When A Yogurt Lid Is More Than Just A Yogurt Lid, Or Is It?
Putting together its upcoming Gabriel Orozco retrospective, the Museum of Modern Art went in search of four Dannon yogurt caps from a 1994 installation — which, alas, were sold years ago and replaced by Orozco with decoys. “What does it matter if those in the MoMA show aren’t the same ones that Mr. Orozco used when he first mounted the piece 15 years ago?”
European Organizations Focus More On American Donors
“As European cultural institutions take cues from their American brethren and rely increasingly on private donations, the perks that donors get in return for giving are growing in number and diversity. … Iconic cultural institutions like the Tate, the Mariinsky and the Louvre all have set up American or international ‘friends groups’ in the last decade….”
Aussie Songs Square Off: Did Men At Work Rob The Cradle?
“Down Under,” the 1981 pop hit by Men at Work, and “The Kookaburra Song,” the classic 1934 children’s tune, “now reside at the center of a fierce intellectual-property battle raging in Australia. The copyright holder of ‘The Kookaburra Song’ says it’s unlawfully sampled in ‘Down Under.'”