Category: visual

Tickets are expensive – $35k per person – for the “Oscars of the East.” But the event, managed by Vogue is showing some signs of waning. No magazine, not even Vogue, has the same influence over the industry that it once did and social media has given advertisers, brands and designers a lot of their own power to create “moments” and “brand awareness.” – Women’s Wear Daily

Angelica Frey surveys the subject from the 12th century to the 21st, looking at how the bloody Biblical tale has been used to symbolize “womanly virtue” and modesty, defeating a larger and more powerful adversary, female rage and vengeance, a literal femme fatale, and even resistance against Stalinism and white supremacy. – Artsy

The county board of supervisors voted Tuesday to approve the current plan and release $117.5 million in taxpayer funding for it, despite last-minute entreaties from some art and architecture critics who urged the board to vote against the project. – The New York Times

“A ‘yes’ vote from the supervisors means that more than 50 years of the county project to build the last great encyclopedic art museum in the United States is over. It has driven five former LACMA directors, scores of curators and professional staff, countless past benefactors, an array of trustees and untold others in building the institution, virtually from scratch, since 1965.” – Los Angeles Times

The culprit was one of three air conditioning units on the ground floor of the two-century-old building. The machines weren’t installed according to manufacturer’s recommendations for grounding and separate circuit breakers, and all three were receiving a more powerful electrical current than they were designed for. – Smithsonian Magazine

The city’s ability to invent and reinvent itself over and over again is no accident. Yes, the location is wonderful. But the city’s layout and design have conspired to serve as a template that can be endlessly recycled. – Vox

“The National Children’s Museum’s anticipated new home opens Nov. 1 in the Ronald Reagan Building in downtown Washington, signaling a new chapter for a beloved institution that has been closed for more than four years.” – The Washington Post

“Online art sales value continued to grow in 2018, albeit at a slower rate than in previous years, totaling $4.64 billion … The online art market grew just 9.8% in 2018, a drop from 12% in 2017, continuing a slowdown in growth that dates back to at least 2015, when it grew at a breakneck rate of 24%.” – Artsy

Hm. After lawsuits and countersuits and a lot of bad publicity, the museum deaccessioned and sold 40 pieces of art from its collection, including some Norman Rockwells, to fund a “New Vision.” The new director says, “‘It didn’t scare me, obviously. I’m here. … You’ve got to find a way to pick up on the other side of that and move an institution forward.” – The Berkshire Eagle (Massachusetts)