Category: visual

“A small note on the posters for David Hockney’s forthcoming exhibition at the Royal Academy contains a sly dig at another superstar artist about to launch a major exhibition. The note reads: ‘All the works here were made by the artist himself, personally’.”

“He’s saying that students used to be taught how to draw perfectly at the expense of their individuality. Now scores of students graduate from art colleges believing that everything they do or touch or say can be labelled a work of art but they couldn’t draw a rabbit if you held a gun to their heads. There you have it: the difficulty of teaching art in a nutshell.”

“What is interesting to see in Egypt, and in all these countries, is that artists are not only going out into the city, they also become agents of change in society.”

“It was in the most sorry state imaginable – terribly torn, with parts peeling off, no frame, and almost black – and for about 150 years lay unloved at the back of the stores in one of the world’s oldest public galleries.”

“A call for an investigation of asbestos inside and around the Museum of Contemporary Art could delay the official opening of its new wing, set for next March.”

“The statement was issued after culture ministry officials used a crane to peruse up close an area of the massive structure where bits of plaster were said to have detached and fallen on Tuesday, according to news reports.”

“Over the course of a six-decade career, Frankenthaler jump-started American painting not once, but twice… Frankenthaler’s achievement is to have put the language of abstraction to the service of art’s historic need to address large ideas. As such she occupies an enduring place in the pantheon of American masters. Yet her legacy already seems in peril. “

The two artists, who died within a week of each other, “brought a new, unfettered approach to materials that pushed their respective mediums toward greater expressive freedom, unabashed physicality and a rough-edged, aggressively color-based beauty. These qualities became identifying hallmarks of American art, especially in the 1960s, but remain crucial to it even now.”

“The kinetic sculptures of Dutch artist Theo Jansen are giant, self-propelling winged and jointed constructions. Made of PVC tubes and plastic bottles, each Strandbeest’s movement is powered by the wind, while ‘artificial intelligence’ means it can change course to avoid obstacles.”

“A courtyard column of a Roman house collapsed on Thursday, the latest in a series of crumbling artifacts at the site, Reuters reported. Last year there were other collapses, including part of what is known as the House of Gladiators. The damage played a role in a no-confidence vote against Culture Minister Sandro Bondi earlier this year.”