Category: visual

“Mari Carmen Ramírez, the curator of Latin American art at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, … wants to shake up the politics of art history, to prove that Latin American art, far from being derivative, has had its own identity, its own breakthroughs.”

“It might be worth asking whether museums are the best places for people who are both creative and caring. Are museums supportive platforms from which to envision and enact social change? Can “we win” at creating a better future from within traditional museums? How could museums nurture more interesting, connective, transformative curators? Do museums even want to?”

“The perception of Arab art has changed. Before the uprisings people either saw it as exotic and innocuous or steeped in the Islamic tradition; artists were wary of showing work that might be seen as too political. But now there’s an appetite to understand the context of the uprisings, and there’s a real flourishing of work that’s more edgy.”

“Few young artists are producing work with the in-your-face iconoclasm of classic YBA works such as Hirst’s shark in formaldehyde or Tracey Emin’s My Bed.” And they’re far less concerned with fame and money (for now). But they’re out there …

“On Nov. 13, 1894, in Chicago, the inventor Frederick Weeks Wilcox patented a version of what he called a ‘paper pail,’ which was a single piece of paper, creased into segments and folded into a (more or less) leakproof container secured with a dainty wire handle on top. The supportive folds on the outside, fastened with that same wire, created a flat interior surface over which food could slide smoothly onto a plate.”

“The art market is being transformed by Chinese collectors willing to pay top dollar for everything from Ming vases to contemporary Chinese abstracts. In some cases, these works are outstripping prices paid for blue-chip Western artists like René Magritte and Clyfford Still. Three of the 10 most expensive art works sold at auction last year were by Chinese artists, according to art-market analyst Artprice. Last year’s priciest painting.”

“Spanning centuries and continents, the instruments worth at least $25 million by their chief caretaker’s estimate are packed and stacked in an out-of-the-way storage room with water-stained ceilings. It’s hardly the environment envisioned for them when Detroit businessman Frederick Stearns gave the University of Michigan the base of the collection a century ago with instructions that the instruments be exhibited — not invisible.”

Forget eternally art-focused art. Here’s Visible 2011. “The prize is dedicated to artists and collectives who aim to bring about responsible social change through their artistic practices. This idea is rooted in the mission behind Pistoletto’s foundation, that art should not be self-referential.”

“‘The structure has come to represent the idea of Eastern cuisine in Western society even though this packaging is not used for food containment in Chinese culture,’ says Scott Chapps, designer of packaging for Help Remedies. Or, as David Federico, marketing manager for Fold-Pak, put it, ‘We don’t sell them in China.'”

Hockney, who moved to Yorkshire after years of living in California, won’t take the title seriously. He’s too busy painting on his iPad.