Category: visual

Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art chooses architect finalists to design a new $50 million museum. “The new ICA will be the first art museum built in Boston in almost 100 years.” – Boston Herald

A Rembrandt “Portrait of a Lady” sold for a record $28.7 million at auction Wednesday at Christie’s in London. – CNN

According to recent reports from Lhasa, capital of Tibet, “much of the area around Barkhor Square, the centre of the Tibetan city, has been fenced off, apparently but unconfirmably for demolition. Such destruction has already happened in much of the old town, although it is unclear whether this is due to corruption or official policy.” – The Art Newspaper

What was wrong with art in the last 15 years of the 20th Century? “For a number of reasons, art had given up the ghost under the weight of theory. The breakdown of distinctions between high and popular culture led to all manner of cultural produce and effluent being sifted and read as text. We were top heavy with theorists (not to mention curators), who needed scant visual stimulus to write the work into the flat ergo of post-modernist irony: in short, what we had was nominalism. Artworks merely had to ring the appropriate bell to set the Pavlovian critics slavering for interpretation.” – The Guardian

Did the Pompidou lose a sculpture? A nine-foot tall one at that? The museum’s director admits it was probably destroyed. – New York Times

With back-to-back record turnouts, Hartford’s Wadsworth Atheneum will record the highest attendance in the museum’s 156-year history. “This total marks a 41 percent increase from 1999 and a 63 percent increase from the average annual attendance in 1990 through 1999.” – Hartford Courant

The state museums in Dresden recorded an enormous increase in attendance this year, even as other German museums were scrounging for visitors. Even more impressive – the museum staged more exhibitions this year despite reduced funding. – Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

Police in Kent England are attempting to crack down on the stolen photograph trade. “In an attempt to make buying and selling stolen property more difficult, customers are being invited to leave their thumbprint with the object they are offering for sale.” – The Times (UK)

The National Gallery of Australia has chosen Melbourne businessman and philanthropist Harold Mitchell as its new chairman. – The Australian

At a recent symposium for curators there was a lot of talk about museum expansion, but very little about the transformative power of art. “Museums are great. The problem is, too many of them have started to believe what they’re doing isn’t just good, but necessary. Too many curators seem to want to teach or preach to us; many are more interested in being do-gooders than in doing good by art.” – Village Voice