Category: visual

“So what is it about Tate that has captured our hearts and turned us into a nation of gallery goers? The programming, which gives wall space to the greats and new talent alike, most definitely plays to a populist market, in favour of being edgy or groundbreaking. But it’s clearly what people want, which is why the Holbein show was the second-most visited show, ever.”

“If the Barnes is going to move, come hell or high water or last-gasp legal challenges, it would be nice to understand what the trade-offs will be. Is it possible, for example, to create an equally intimate experience in a bustling urban setting? Will the fabled art collection of Cézannes, Renoirs and Picassos be eclipsed by the bookstores, cafes and auditoriums that are de rigueur at museums these days? And how do you preserve the unique charms of the Barnes experience while moving the art from its idiosyncratic neo-Classical setting?”

A federal judge has ruled that “the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art has the right to display an immense unfinished installation by Christoph Büchel, a Swiss artist whose relationship with the museum fell apart early this year, leading to a bitter public battle over control of the work and over artists’ rights in general.”

Think Bilbao, and one thing comes to mind. “Such is the staying power of Frank O. Gehry’s architectural showstopper, 10 years after it crash-landed on the public psyche like a new Hollywood starlet. The iridescent structure wasn’t just a new building; it was a cultural extravaganza.”

The Tate saw 7.7 million people pass through the doors of its four English galleries between April 2006 and April 2007. “Tate Modern was the real star: 5.2 million of those visitors went to the gallery on London’s Bankside.”

Chicago’s Children’s Museum wants to relocate to Grant Park. “While it’s easy to get lost in such to-and-fro, the issue, in the end, is all about balancing precedent and progress: To allow one more museum to enter the park (the Art Institute of Chicago was granted an exception before its construction began in 1891) means that others invariably will follow. The risk is that more museums will clutter the park’s magnificent clarity, chipping away at Ward’s vision of serene open space. Is that where we want to go in the midst of a major buildup of residential high-rises around the park — even more buildings around its edges?”

“It is estimated that the works will bring $7.6 million to $11.1 million at auction. They include works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri Matisse, Mary Cassatt and Georges Braque and other big-name artists. The estimates for the pictures range from $40,000 to $3.5 million.”

“In its recent renovation of the Green Room, the White House has given a place of honor to a newly acquired masterpiece by Jacob Lawrence, one of the greatest African American artists of the 20th century.”

“While artists often spend long periods in the doldrums, producing nothing new or prodding listlessly over the same tired ground, the fashion industry just gets on with its job. Season after season, year after year, designers, photographers and models churn out clothes, images, looks. We may not like everything they do, and what most of us wear may only be very distantly related to the dresses, coats, suits and often quite clearly idiotic assemblages of random fabrics that whiz purposefully down the catwalks, but the effect is a continual refreshing of our collective visual field with new images of aspiration and desire.”

Virginia’s Randolph College is the proud owner of an impressive collection of American art valued at $100 million or more. But money is tight at Randolph these days, and the administration is considering selling all or part of the collection, much to the dismay of many alumni.