Category: visual

The National Gallery of Canada has canceled two big shows planned for next year. The reason? Money. “The deficit for the 1998-99 fiscal year was $5.4 million, almost half of which can be attributed to a drop in funds from Parliament. Gallery officials earlier this year had predicted the 1999-2000 fiscal year deficit would be lower, but the figures have yet to be made public.” And to make it worse, the current “blockbuster” impressionist show only brought in 74 percent of expected attendance. – Ottawa Citizen

China’s Sichuan Academy of Fine Art – one of China’s three major art schools – says it intends to sue the Venice Biennale, curator Harald Szeeman, and artist Cai Guo Qiang, who won the Biennale’s 1999 International Prize, for violation of copyright. “Behind the suit are a group of elderly propaganda artists enraged at Cai’s appropriation of their work” in Cai Guo Qiang’s “Venice Rent Collector’s Courtyard.” – The Art Newspaper

British cultural institutions are increasingly looking to donors in the US for funding. “London’s Royal Academy was the first to break ground in the US in 1983. Since then they have received close to $32 million in donations. The Tate has followed, formally opening an office in Manhattan last September. The fact that their parent bodies are 3,000 miles away seems no impediment to raising millions of dollars in record time.” – The Art Newspaper

Who are the next YBA’s? That is to say – who are the next British art phenomena? “This year, the biggest buzz was at the Royal College of Art’s fine art MA show. Several of the painting students have since received studio visits from White Cube representatives, with many other galleries – from Beaux Arts to Percy Miller and Nylon – expressing interest in taking on certain artists.” – The Independent (UK)

The director of Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art defends contemporary art: “It seems to have escaped the attention of many media commentators in Australia that contemporary art is in fact a very wide discipline. There is no longer one school or type of art that prevails. Contemporary artists continue to make interesting work with traditional media while at the same time embracing new forms of artistic expression.” – Sydney Morning Herald

Wednesday, the British Museum revealed it had been “duped” by a stonemason who had used cheaper stone than had been agreed upon for a new $97 million portico under construction at the British Museum. But evidently the switch was discovered a year ago and workers were allowed to continue. Now everyone is “aghast” at the mismatch in stone color as the scaffolding is being removed. – The Guardian

• NOW FUNDING WOES: Britain’s Lottery, which is helping to fund the new British Museum portico to the tune of £15.75 million, said it will withhold £2 million because the right stone was not used. – London Evening Standard

Scientists tell the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society that “collectors and curators have been unknowingly using risky techniques that cause the polymers forming their paints to fall apart. Poor preservation techniques, including the cleaning of paintings using harsh chemicals, could soften and deform the paint.” – Ananova

An Alabama artist painted a picture of golfer Tiger Woods winning the 1997 Master’s tournament. Woods sued the artist claiming violation of trademark. Though a Cleveland judge threw out the case, Woods has appealed and new organizations “believe that if Woods’ appeal is successful, it would increase the potential for publicity rights laws to extend into the newsgathering process.” – USA Today (AP)

The British Museum was scammed by a stonemasonry company that substituted a cheap stone for the stone it had offered as a sample for building a portico for the museum. The company “mixed samples of Portland stone with a cheaper French limestone to get approval – and then secretly went ahead with building in the French stone. The result has appalled experts. The portico is dazzling white and stands out from the Portland stone that surrounds it. ‘We were mugged,’ said the museum’s managing director Suzanna Taverne.” – London Evening Standard

Last week it was revealed that the National Gallery of Australia had known about the presence of bugs that cause Legionnaire’s disease for at least five years. Further investigation shows the gallery’s director sent a letter of concern about the bug problem just days before a high-profile Matisse exhibition – and managed to keep her letter out of the official registry and away from the press. – Sydney Morning Herald