Category: visual

The Chicago Children’s Museum has been making headlines (and controversy) lately with its plan to build a new home in Grant Park. But beyond the site issues, has the museum fulfilled its mission over the years? And what exactly is that mission?

As Minneapolis prepares to rebuild the interstate bridge that famously collapsed this summer, some are lamenting that the necessary speed of the process is leaving any thought of quality architecture aside. “The word ‘underwhelming’ came up repeatedly at a forum set up to give community members a chance to weigh in on final design details for the $234 million bridge.”

“The director of Russia’s Pushkin museum said yesterday she would not lend any pictures to Britain for a forthcoming Royal Academy exhibition unless she received ‘absolute guarantees’ that they would not be the subject of legal action in the UK… Much of the show, including Matisse’s stunning Dance (II), comprises paintings once owned by Sergei Shchukin, one of tsarist Russia’s most prominent collectors. His grandson, Andre-Marc Delocque-Fourcaud, has in the past lodged unsuccessful legal claims to the works.”

“The biggest auction yet of original works by graffiti artist Banksy has exceeded its estimated takings. The 10 pieces and a print were expected to raise a maximum of £300,000 in total when they were sold in London at auction house Bonhams. However, the works actually fetched £546,000 altogether.”

“A group of students, alumnae, art donors and former employees filed motions in Lynchburg Circuit Court on Tuesday seeking to keep financially ailing Randolph College from selling four paintings from its museum collection next month. The paintings are scheduled to be sold through Christie’s auction house. College officials estimate they will receive at least $32 million, which will go into the college’s endowment.” The art world has been aflame over the plan ever since it was announced.

“Fisk University could run out of money if it is unable to sell its stake in an art collection donated by Georgia O’Keeffe, a lawyer for the historically black school told a judge Tuesday. Even with new revenue from next semester’s student tuition, the school wouldn’t be able to operate beyond February.” The university has been trying to get permission to sell its stake over objections from O’Keeffe’s estate.

“Jackson Pollock, famous for his dripped and poured paintings, was one of the most explosively innovative American artists of the 20th century. But was he also decades ahead of his time in terms of the paints he used? Did he have access to pigments and resins that weren’t marketed or patented until well after his death in 1956?” The question arose after several supposedly authenticated Pollocks were found to contain such pigments.

“Analyzing 500-year-old bricks, engineers in California are searching for a lost Leonardo da Vinci fresco that some researchers believe is behind a wall in Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio… Laser scanners, thermal imaging, radar and neutrons will be employed in the project that Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli said is expected to take about a year.”

“The opening of a new museum – even a mini-museum – devoted to contemporary art is a big deal in this country. For this reason, there has thus been much anticipation surrounding the opening of DHC/ART Foundation in Montreal… When its inaugural show opened in Montreal earlier this month, however, it was clear that it was off to a somewhat stumbling start.”

“A Koran written in 1203, believed to be the oldest known complete copy, has sold for more than $2.3 million at an auction.” The sale price was more than three times the auction house’s estimate.