Category: visual

An Ottawa art gallery struggling to pay the bills is offering its space to adult film producers looking for an “artsy” backdrop.

“I think it was very important to cut off the dialogue that was headed towards, in essence, hijacking the exhibit away from us and putting it into the context of religious desecration. This continues to be a powerful exhibit about the contributions of gay and lesbian artists. It was not about religious iconography and it was not about desecration.”

“Welsh artist Michael Bosanko uses coloured torches and a digital camera with the shutter left open on a long exposure to create these ‘light graffiti’ photos. His work is like an advanced photographic version of writing your name with a sparkler on Bonfire Night.”

This month, the AAM “was able to refinance a debt load that last fall threatened to throw that institution into bankruptcy. But … it’s an open question whether AAM – or other arts institutions – should have borrowed so much money and dabbled in variable-rate demand bonds and interest-rate swaps at all.”

“With performance art increasingly entering the museological mainstream – along with the mainstream mainstream, courtesy of one James Franco – it was only a matter of time before an art school launched a performance-art curating program.”

His defense of his actions on Tuesday — “I think I made the right decision” — makes matters worse. What the secretary actually needs to say when he “touches on” the controversy can be simply stated: “I screwed up.” Speculation has been rife that the decision was a blundered defensive measure, taken in the immediate aftermath of midterm elections.

“We had to act rather quickly because of the world we live in of quick news cycles. But looking back, sure, I wish I had taken more time. We have a lot of friends who felt left out. We needed to spend more time letting our friends know where this was going. I regret that.”

“Museums in London are being urged to get more of their collections out of storage and on display as funding cuts will mean fewer landmark exhibitions. A BBC Freedom of Information request found the British Museum had spent £86,280 in 2009 and 2010 keeping 99% of its collection in storage.”

“Milan Knizak, the director of the country’s National Gallery, refused to accept the decision of an independent selection committee.” (He has veto power ex officio.) “In this case, however, Jiri Besser, the minister of culture, stepped in to overrule Knizak, declaring … that the committee’s choice, installation artist Dominik Lang, would represent the country in Venice.”