Category: visual

“The Earl of Glasgow has written to Historic Scotland asking if the exhibit can remain as a permanent feature of [the 13th-century] Kelburn Castle … The mural features a psychedelic series of interwoven cartoons depicting surreal urban culture.”

“As the opening lot of the Deutscher and Hackett auction, a single wad of $20,000 cash – an artwork called Currency – was sold for $17,500. When the 22 per cent buyer’s premium is added, the total cost comes to $21,350.”

“Still’s widow in 2004 bequeathed her husband’s valuable collection to Denver with the understanding that a museum would be constructed to display the works. The proceeds of the sale of four paintings will go to fund an endowment that will pay for the museum’s operations. The museum’s collection will include 825 paintings, 1600 drawings and three sculptures. Both New York-based Sotheby’s and London-based Christie’s auction houses bid to sell the works. Sotheby’s won, outraging Christie’s and setting off a public dispute.”

“Virtually all the major museums now have clothes moths, and some serious problems, where 10 years ago we found very few indeed.”

5Pointz – you may not know the name, but if you’ve ever ridden the no. 7 subway line into Queens, you’ve seen it through the windows: a set of building walls covered with unusually high-quality graffiti street art. But the buildings themselves are derelict, and the owner wants to replace them with apartment towers.

“Pieces of twisted metal and scrap wood left behind by a massive tornado that tore through Joplin, Mo., are now sitting in a gallery in Kansas City. The sculptures and paintings from the wreckage are to be sold at auction Saturday.”

“Design is his wheelhouse. Where … either in terms of aesthetics or usability … has he whiffed?” Christopher Shea offers a few suggestions (like the single-button mouse), and puts the question to readers.

ACCO Brands, the no. 1 paper clip manufacturer in the US, is introducing Klix, small hair-barrette-shaped stainless steel clips in bright colors that snap when closed. “It’s very fun,” says an ACCO executive, “It’s this clickiness.” It’s also 16 times the price of a regular paper clip.

When the Tate galleries’ budget got slashed by £750,000, the director called in two external consultants for help. But some Tate staffers don’t like anything about their advice. “We call it neurofascism. It’s just a load of Californian psychobabble.”

“Institutions like the ICA are always under crisis. Certain crises are useful. It’s good to be at the edge. And then again certain crises aren’t useful, just time-consuming. We are trying to push it towards some useful crises,” says artist Roger Hiorns.