Category: visual

When Andy Warhol first told the Absolut vodka company that he admired the design of their bottle, and wanted to paint it, no one suspected that a Swedish booze company would become the subject of one of the most widely-viewed pop art collections of all time. But 25 years and countless Absolut ads later, the collection is taken quite seriously not just as a successful ad campaign, but as a legitimate collaboration between commerce and art. Oh, and in case you ever wondered: yes, the campaign sold a heck of a lot of vodka over the years.

Visitors to a New York nightclub this season are getting an unexpected dose of art, and a bonus shot of the artist himself. Painter/photographer Peter Tunney spent nearly a month installing his work in the 1000-square-foot space provided by the Crobar club, and then installed his bed and himself in the middle of it all, creating a sort of living exhibition, open to the public. The stunt has been something of a celebrity draw for the club, and has done wonders for Tunney’s work ethic: he is said to have created 100 new pieces since moving in.

“In 1972 the Anderson Fine Arts Center in Anderson, Ind., which has about 25,000 visitors a year, was given “Damage,” one of Mr. Ruscha’s signature word paintings, by the American Federation of the Arts. At the time it was valued at $3,000. Now the Anderson is offering the painting at Christie’s sale of contemporary and postwar art on May 11. It is estimated at $1.8 million to $2.5 million.”

French performance artist Orlan practices her art by altering her body cosmetically with plastic surgery. “For Orlan, plastic surgery isn’t tummy tucks, liposuction, breast reduction or lip augmentation. It’s an expression of the sublime and grotesque, eccentricities carved into human flesh and sculpted in living bone.”

You might have thought that a show of contemporary edgy British art in Teheran might have set off a few fundamentalist fireworks. But “the mullahs kept quiet, and the show ended last week after a noisily popular run. Thousands crowded in during the first few days; thereafter it drew a record 600 visitors a day on average.”

“The histories of American writers and composers who went to Paris between the world wars have been examined so frequently that it’s almost unthinkable the same should not have been true for artists. But [a] new exhibition at the Terra Museum of American Art, purports to be the first to examine the phenomenon in all its diversity, and that has made for a complex, often revelatory experience.” American artists drawn to Paris for its comparatively eclectic style and freedom of artistic thought “defined themselves by looking to currents outside their native country even after they returned home, as nearly all of them did.”

The sale of Jack Vettriano’s painting at a major-league price doesn’t mean its great work. “They are not connected to any enduring artistic value, only to current commercial success and that is a very different thing. Remember when, at the Millennium, the greatest musician of all time was chosen by popular vote? It turned out to be Robbie Williams. He left Mozart, Beethoven and all the rest standing. You can’t compare Vettriano to the great Scottish painters just because of his fancy prices any more than you can compare Williams to Mozart.”

Is there any structure more depressingly predictable than an airport? How much would a truly envigorating airline terminal be worth to travelers? Would it be worth, say, CAN$3.6 billion? The city of Toronto is hoping so, since that’s what its new Terminal 1 cost to build. Lisa Rochon is impressed, if not overwhelmed: “So laborious has become the experience of travel that we no longer expect to find in it moments of pleasure. But at the new Toronto terminal there are delights to be had… Many who have lost faith in the power of public art will find themselves happily restored at the new terminal.” And really, isn’t a bit of post-travel restoration worth a few billion?

London’s Royal College of Art is planning an extension. But fans of the Albert Hall next door are protesting. “Campaigners claim the Royal College of Art extension – nicknamed ‘The Ellipse’ – will “disrupt” views of the Hall and “detract” from its historic setting. More than 9,000 people have signed a petition calling for a public inquiry into the proposed six-storey building.”

Critics don’t think much of painter Jack Vettriano’s work, but the public likes it. And there’s a market for it. “The Singing Butler, the Jack Vettriano painting – arguably Britain’s most popular art image but loathed by critics – last night entered the financial territory occupied by the world’s great contemporary artists when it sold at auction for £744,800.”