Category: visual

One New York City Parks Commissioner describes the artist Christo and his wife/collaborater Jeanne-Claude as “relentless, in the best New York City way,” and the massive draping of Central Park is the proof. The project, which will come to fruition this weekend, is the culmination of a quarter-century of begging, cajoling, and convincing by the artists, who use the proceeds from small, collector-friendly works to fund their huge flights of artistic fancy.

San Francisco is a cutting-edge city in so many ways, so why does it lag behind other big metropolises when it comes to innovative architecture? Perhaps it’s not entirely a bad thing, especially if the city’s reluctance to embrace New York-style modernism is rooted in a devotion to its own unique look. “[G]ood buildings here have deep roots. They’re tied to their setting, whether it’s a rural hillside or a city street, and they draw on what’s around them… Second, there’s a conscious attempt to build on the past in fresh ways, [and] finally, the good local architects appreciate how our urban world is shaped by nature. The Bay Area is not some blank slate waiting for buildings to shape the landscape. What makes this region special is the environment.”

“Lucian Freud’s painting of a naked and pregnant Kate Moss was sold at auction yesterday for $7.29 million (U.S.), and another Freud painting…’Red Haired Man on a Chair,’ sold for a record $7.71 million.”

“Architecture is London at its most diverse, something fundamental to its future as a leading international centre for design. But, despite this, few major established foreign architectural talents have settled here or opened important offices. So the arrival of a big New York heavyweight, Rafael Viñoly is a fascinating development.”

Toronto’s Art Gallery of Ontario is laying off 71 employees as it begins work on its $195 million Frank-Gehry-designed expansion. “This likely is the harbinger of further cuts in staffing over the three-year construction period that is expected to conclude in the spring of 2008. The AGO has an estimated 450 full-time and part-time staff. The initial layoffs involve 58 staff members — 18 of them full-time — in the AGO’s retail and food/beverage operations, as well as 13 temporary employees.

George Bush endorses the National Mall as the site for a new national museum honoring African-American history. “A commission formed to establish an African American history museum on the Mall is considering four sites in Washington; only two are on the Mall. Many African American groups have said if the museum is not built on the Mall, they would consider it a slight.”

Only a few days to go before New York’s Central Park unfurls in a wash of orange cloth, courtesy of Christo and Jeanne Claude…

A judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Elizabeth Taylor over a Van Gogh painting a German family claimed had been stolen by the Nazis. The 1889 artwork was bought by actress Ms Taylor at auction in 1963.

Hundreds of volunteers are working hard in New York’s Central Park this week to put up the 7,500 gates of Christo and Jeanne Claude’s project. “While each team seemed diverse in age and profession, from college students to retired teachers and doctors, all had a common bond: a resolve to be a part of the city’s biggest public-art happening ever.”

New York officials are expecting thousands of visitors to come to the city to see Christo’s Central park Gates. “From art collectors to museum groups, tourists to paid Christo volunteers, the city expects 200,000 to flock to the city for the installation, which will remain through Feb. 27. Such figures, of course, are mere guesses for now. But there does seem to be universal agreement that in a traditionally slow tourism period, New York will draw record numbers of visitors, thanks to “The Gates.””