“The study of African American artistic production has emerged as a growing field within art history, while its subjects have proven equally amenable to visual culture studies. But a dearth of quality reproductions, institutional holdings catalogues and subject indices, and the number of out-of-print texts continue to slow our scholarly labor.”
Category: visual
London – Capital Of The Art World
London is the world’s new art capital. “New Yorkers see their town as the source of all creation, a one-stop shop for culture. But London has become the art capital of the world. London has hot artists and a new museum every other year. New York is between generations and cannot get new buildings off the ground. It lacks coherence and unity. Visiting Americans will soon be offered a combined ticket for the Tate, the Saatchi, the Aquarium and the Eye. “
Sydney Opera House Considered For World Heritage Designation
The Sydney Opera House is being considered for World Heritage listing. “Australia already has 14 World Heritage sites but they are mostly natural and cultural icons. The Government said listings boost the economy and continue to form ‘our national identity . . . that we are morally bound to pass on to future generations’.”
Artist’s Sign Warns Of Low-Flying Planes In Lower Manhattan
An artists has painted a big sign on a building near the site of the former World Trade Center in New York. It says: CAUTION: Low Flying Planes. “The painting, which includes an image of a flickering flame, has angered neighbors and provoked complaints to the city Landmarks Preservation Commission.”
Concerns For Stolen Cellini Sculpture
The saltcellar stolen from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna over the weekend was crafted by the great Renaissance sculptor and metalworker Benvenuto Cellini in the 1540s. It was called by some the “Mona Lisa” of sculpture to give a sense of its importance, and is said to be worth $57 million. “It was extremely fragile. It wasn’t cast in solid gold, but hammered into its delicate shape. I think if it comes back it will reappear all in pieces or as a ruin. The whole thing happened in less than one minute; in such a hurry [I can’t imagine] that a piece of this fragility could survive.”
Can The Guggenheim Really Be Global If It’s Not In Antarctica?
Even in the face of financial setbacks, the Guggenheim presses on with expansion. Latest addition was Rio, announced a few weeks ago. Where will it stop? How about Antarctica? “Two ice-walled galleries will display the last 10 artworks from the permanent collection of the Guggenheim, the rest having been gradually sold off to cover debt service and other costs associated with the museum’s 18-year expansion program. ‘We cannot be a truly Global Guggenheim until we have a foothold on each continent,’ observed Mr. Krens at last week’s Guggenheim Summit in New York, attended by the directors of the Guggenheims Venice, Berlin, Bilbao, Rio, Taichung, Nairobi and Perth.”
Tate Modern, Three Years On
In its first year, the Tate Modern drew five million visitors; it quickly became the hottest thing in modern art. The numbers have tailed off some, but “despite a drop in visitor numbers, Tate Modern has reigned as the only major gallery offering contemporary art in the capital on a massive scale. But after nearly three years it saw its first threat to its crown with the opening of the Saatchi Gallery, at nearby County Hall.”
Whitney Museum Director Resigns
Maxwell Anderson has resigned as director of the Whitney Museum in New York. “Rumors of trouble between Mr. Anderson and the Whitney’s board had been circulating around the gossipy art world for some time. Mr. Anderson said in a statement that it had “become clear in recent months that the board and I have a different sense of the Whitney’s future, in both the scale of its ambitions and the balance of its programming.”
The Barnes – Art Held Hostage
A new book chronicles the decline of the Barnes Collection’s fortunes. With a collection valued at $6 billion, the Barnes today finds itself broke and unable to pay its bills on its own. Here’s the story of how it finds itself in this predicament…
Stolen: The “Mona Lisa of Sculpture”
A valuable sculpture was stolen from the Art History Museum in Vienna. “The 16th century ‘Saliera’ (salt cellar) is considered ‘the Mona Lisa of sculptures,’ the museum said. The 10-inch-tall piece was the only remaining authenticated example of Italian master sculptor Benvenuto Cellini’s work as a goldsmith. This is an art theft of gigantic proportions. The ‘Saliera’ was worth at the very least 50 million euros ($57 million).”