Category: visual

“An entire counterfactual history of New York could be written simply from the stories of buildings that never got built. … Only nine months ago, each of the buildings on the following pages stood a fighting chance of making the jump from architect’s drawings to glass, steel, concrete, and brick. Today, all are on indefinite, very costly hold. “

“This summer the surviving 1,300 metres of the wall is to be scrubbed clean and then repainted by the same artists who turned it into a giant work of art in the heady weeks after Berliners flooded across border posts in November 1989, rendering the wall, built in 1961 as a “protective barrier against fascism”, redundant.”

“The attack on the prince, who is known for his traditional views on architecture, comes in a letter to today’s Sunday Times. It is signed by, among others, Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, Lord Foster, Zaha Hadid, Renzo Piano and Frank Gehry, who are leading figures in their field. Among their works are the “bird’s nest” stadium for the Beijing Olympics, the Gherkin and Tate Modern in London, the Pompidou Centre in Paris and the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao.”

Some 12,500 people have bought works of art using interest-free loans since the Own Art scheme was set up five years ago. The Government-funded Arts Council, which runs the scheme, said it had given a “significant boost to galleries and artists around the country”.

“In the art market as in war, the worst danger is often unexpected. Professionals dreaded the decline of demand in the current recessionary gloom and it did not happen. The market is as bullish as ever. It is the drying up of supplies that is threatening to cause havoc.”

“Judith Scott couldn’t hear or speak, yet she found a language with which to describe her inner world. Hawkins Bolden couldn’t see, yet his statues stare at you with haunted eyes. And both Royal Robertson and Ike Morgan, isolated by mental illness, communicated through paintings what they couldn’t express any other way.”

“[W]e cannot deny that few things are better at getting a conversation started than a provocative piece of art – especially if it involves the use (or abuse) of a religious symbol. The latest case in point: This week, a cathedral in the French town of Gap displayed a sculpture that depicts Jesus Christ sitting in an electric chair.”

“To get published in an art magazine you need to follow criteria that are almost the total opposite of what you need to write for general publications. Anything that might interest or enlighten the general reader – or any reader – is to be ruthlessly avoided. This is why there is almost no crossover between such magazines and the mainstream press.”

“But the real attention-grabber was Fairey’s assertion that the AP itself violated copyright laws when it used a photo of the artist’s ‘Hope’ poster without getting permission. In other words, he’s arguing that the AP can’t reproduce an image by Fairey that the artist himself appropriated from the AP.”

“The Saint Louis Art Museum has offered a second round of early retirement offers and implemented other cost-cutting measures in an effort to save $1.5 million. The museum said Wednesday it faces a variety of challenges in this recession, including a decline in revenue from the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District, reduced funding from its endowment, lower levels of annual giving, lower income from its shop and restaurant, depressed consumer spending and a drop in attendance….”