Category: visual

The attorneys representing the 100,000 plaintiffs who sued Sotheby’s and Christie’s for price fixing stand to make $27 million for their work after negotiating a $512 million settlement. – New York Times

Scholars are arguing about whether the bones found under the Duomo in Florence are those of Renaissance painter Giotto. Those who believe it’s the painter base their identification on “an analysis of the skeleton. Reconstructing the face, they came up with a strong likeness to what may or may not be a Giotto self-portrait in a fresco.” A planned reburial of the bones was put on hold while the identity got sorted out, but now it’s on again for Jan. 8, the anniversary of the painter’s death. – Nando Times

Swiss banks plan to distribute $1.25 billion in reparations to Holocaust survivors. “Until just recently, Swiss bankers were demanding impossible-to-produce death certificates and other documentation before they would pay out claims.” But many of the survivors or their heirs are contesting the settlement. – New Jersey Online

“As it yaws into view from the window of your incoming jet, the new Bilbao airport looks like a giant bird or plane that has made it to the ground shortly ahead of you. Perched on a virgin hillside site, untainted by the usual miasma of support buildings, Santiago Calatrava’s operatic design, known locally as la paloma (the dove), is as precious as it is special. It has been designed – unlike, say, Heathrow or Gatwick, which have grown as if organically – as a gateway to the Basque capital, which in recent years has become a showcase for show-off contemporary architecture.” – The Guardian

An artist claims to have created the first “serious” art on a Palm Pilot. But is it really art? “While such pioneering work is often interesting, the question is whether novelty alone is a useful criterion for art or merely a great excuse for talking about technology.” – Wired

For decades the Soviet hometown of Marc Chagall acted as if the artist had never existed. Now, finally, the “Belarussian city has now embraced the artist, with two museums honoring his life and his work.” – Chicago Tribune

Last summer an international team of archaeologists raced to save Turkish treasures from rapidly rising flood waters. “Some experts are now calling Zeugma, a 2,000-year-old Roman garrison on the banks of the Euphrates, a “second Pompeii.” The floor mosaics that have been salvaged are among the most exquisite in existence, rivaling the collection at the Bardo in Tunis, considered the finest in the world.” – Chicago Tribune

“Leading curators all over are bringing design into their art galleries, in an effort to expand the scope of their programming, and of their audience.” But, as in the Guggenheim’s Armani show, why do it if all you end up doing is making an expensive commercial for a designer? – The Globe and Mail (Canada)

Is the Turner Prize good for art? Is it valuable because it “gets people talking about creativity and ideas” or is is bad because it steers art in the directions championed by a select elite few?” – The Observer (UK)

In their latest attempt to get Britain to return the Elgin marbles to Greece, the Greeks have come up with a new tactic – a subway station at the base of the Acropolis. “The Greeks have chosen this subway station to send a message to thousands of people every day: The marble sculptures that once adorned the Parthenon should come home from London. To make the point, the inside of Akropoli station has been decorated with replicas of the Parthenon Marbles.” – Washington Post