Category: visual

“Amid growing student interest in their programs, New York architecture and design schools are moving to add new buildings conceived by hot architects of the moment.”

The Cleveland Museum’s $258 million expansion is one of the biggest cultural construction projects in the city’s history. “Critics say the museum is overreaching. They claim the museum was good enough as it was and should be left alone. And they say it’s questionable whether the museum can raise all the money it needs in a city with a flagging economy, a shrinking population and a school system in financial distress.” But architecture critic Steve Litt writes that “rather than envision a future based on the worst fears imaginable, trustees of the Cleveland Museum of Art are making a huge bet on the future of Cleveland. That, it seems to me, is what they ought to be doing.”

Some of Italy’s most famous public artworks have been vandalized, and experts are calling for originals to be removed and copies put in their places. “It may sound extreme to suggest that cities such as Florence and Rome could be stripped bare in the future, their historic statues and monuments moved indoors and copies put in their place, but calls are growing for a debate on whether many of the most vulnerable works of art should be removed from public locations for their own safety.”

Professor Glynn Williams, the head of the school of fine art at the Royal College of Art is objecting to plans for a statue of Nelson Mandela to be erected in Trafalgar Square outside the National Gallery. “My main objection to the proposed sculpture is the quality of the work on offer. I believe this to be a run-of-the mill mediocre modelling in an attempt to get a mimetic likeness. The sculpture proposed by Ian Walters is an adequate portrait but nothing more. In my opinion a sculptor of more originality and inventiveness should have been chosen, so a lasting piece of artistic heritage will be left.”

Tate Britain has canceled display of John Latham’s God Is Great because the museum says it is afraid of “offending some Muslims after the London terrorist bombings.” The Tate says “that it had to take the ‘difficult decision’ to avoid its motives being misunderstood given the attacks, which killed 52 people in July, and the present political climate. However, it admitted it had not consulted the Metropolitan Police or the Muslim Council of Britain. Latham, 84, who insists that the piece is not anti-Islamic, says: ‘Tate Britain have shown cowardice over this. I think it’s a daft thing to do because if they want to help the militants, this is the way to do it.”

Roanoke Virginia is the latest to roll the dice on the “Bilbao effect.” The Art Museum of Western Viginia is building a new $46 million home. “Interlocking roofs, sheathed with ribs of brushed stainless steel, will roll like hills across the site. Walls with chemically treated zinc shingles will remind visitors of rock striations they’ve seen in the nearby mountains. A soaring prow of glass will erupt from these layers of metal, inviting wonder and, at the same time, signaling where the front door is. Another word people might use a lot to describe the 75,000-square-foot building, after the dust settles, is beautiful.”

Getty attorneys have determined that as many as half of the ancient masterpieces in the museum’s collection can be traced back to suspect dealers. “In correspondence with the Getty, the dealers made frank, almost casual references to ancient sites from which artifacts had been excavated, apparently in violation of Italian law, the records show. The Getty’s outside attorney considered the letters “troublesome” and advised the museum not to turn them over to Italian authorities. Although Italy is seeking the return of 42 objects, the Getty’s lawyers did their own assessment and determined that the museum had purchased 82 artworks from dealers and galleries under investigation by the Italians. They include 54 of the 104 ancient artworks that the Getty has identified as masterpieces.”

“Celebrated German abstract artist Blinky Palermo caused confusion and consternation at Edinburgh College of Art when he painted his lines in the entrance hall. The Scottish arts establishment regarded the ‘work’ as anti-art and concealed it behind a thick coat of emulsion. Now the lost work is regarded as a masterpiece with a theoretical value of £300,000. Sadly, removing the paint without destroying the original is cost-prohibitive, so the lines will be recreated on top of the originals.”

The US is considering a request by the Chinese government o restrict imports of Chinese art. “The Chinese asked for the embargo in an effort reclaim stolen good and to stem looting and illicit export of archaeological material by reducing the market demand overseas. The request was made under the 1970 Unesco Convention regarding cultural property.”

After two years of exploration, a painting has been declared a Rembrandt. “X-rays showed many layers to the painting. Around the woman’s neck was the fur collar, but under it there was a black layer of paint, and under that what Rembrandt had originally intended: a whitish collar. That explained the reflections, since light could well reflect off a white collar, but not off dark, fur.”