Category: visual

A leading Polish actor is arrested for slashing pictures in a gallery. The exhibition was called “The Nazis” and depicted actors from movies in Nazi uniforms. “I defend the right to say that there are some frontiers of decency which were clearly overstepped in this exhibition, and I reacted violently in the hope that my gesture will highlight my objections.” – The Art Newspaper

A report prepared by the UK’s Illicit Trade Advisory Panel has recommended 16 measures to crack down on the rampant international smuggling of cultural art and antiquities. (Britain currently accounts for 30% of the global market in stolen artifacts.) Foremost among the recommendations is that Britain accede to the Unesco convention already signed by 91 other countries banning the international trade in stolen art and antiquities. – Financial Times

• A SIGNED TREATY MIGHT HELP: After 30 years of objections, the British government is now likely to sign the Unesco convention. “The worldwide trade is worth billions, and Interpol and other police agencies believe drug barons and other criminals are laundering profits through stolen antiquities.” – The Guardian

Right after World War II a list of claims for missing works of art by Old Masters and pioneers of modernism such as Degas, Renoir, Tintoretto and Tiepolo was made. But the list was “hidden away in government archives for half a century, frustrating efforts by a dying generation of Holocaust survivors and the art world to track down thousands of paintings and sculptures. Now a lack of funding and bureaucratic mishaps could again consign those documents to an obscure shelf in the National Archives.” – Chicago Tribune

“An opportunity has arisen to examine the issue of solidarity among architects today. An international group of architects is dedicated to conserving modern buildings and studying the ideas embodied by them. Who’s against preserving buildings and studying history? But Docomomo is beginning to change the landscape of American architecture. It is forging a bond between two groups that up to now have been opposed: historic preservationists and enthusiasts of modernism.” – New York Times

“If the first current idea informing much cultural planning is a version of technological determinism, then the second is a belief in the increasing convergence of commerce and culture. In this version of futurology, shops are becoming more like museums – places for visual and aesthetic display – while museums are becoming more like shops.” – The Telegraph (UK)

The Vancouver Art Gallery appoints Kathleen Bartels, currently assistant director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, as its new director. – National Post (Canada)

The National Gallery of Canada added two Spanish paintings to a list of suspected Nazi art booty. The two paintings are some of of the museum’s most important post-war acquisitions, but they might have been looted by Soviet agents during the Spanish Civil War. – National Post (Canada)

The Pew Charitable Trusts gives the financially-strapped Barnes Foundation $500,000, adding to an earlier grant for the same amount from the Getty Trust. The money will help stabilize the ailing Barnes. – Nando Times

“Are museums going to hell in a touring exhibition of hand baskets? Is buzz a thing to be feared in a place of high culture?” Directors of Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts and the Harvard Museums debate buzz and bang-for-the-buck. – Boston Herald

A government inquiry into the British Museum’s possible evasion of planning laws may lead to prosecution. In its latest controversy, the recently redesigned museum has been criticized for blighting the views of surrounding properties. – The Times (UK)