Category: visual

Archaeologists has put on display some of the treasures they have uncovered from a nearly complete ancient city they discovered. “The city, untouched for more than 1000 years, was found less than 10 metres under the waters of the Mediterranean about six kilometres off the coast near Alexandria, Egypt.” – The Age (Melbourne) (LA Times, Reuters)

Demand for Africa’s ancient art is so high that gangs of thieves are taking advantage smuggling out artifacts to London in a trade that’s said to be worth £500 million a year. – The Sunday Times (UK)

A self-proclaimed “fake hunter” insists that a painting in Britain’s National Gallery said to be by Rubens is a fake. Pay no attention to this man, writes one expert. “An amateur in the worst sense of the word, he has become a man with an obsession, apparently deaf and blind to evidence, disingenuous to a menacing degree, prepared to take words out of context with a knowing and triumphant Gotcha! and thoughtlessly prepared to traduce all who disagree with him; in this bitter feud against the National Gallery he makes an ass of himself.” – London Evening Standard

“A patron at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts on Sunday disregarded a do-not-touch sign, climbed atop a display platform and sat down on a chair dating to the Ming Dynasty, breaking it in three places.” The chair was worth “six figures.” – St. Paul Pioneer Press

Greece calls again for the return of the Elgin marbles from the British Museum, but says it might be interested in sharing ownership of the artwork. – BBC

Boston’s Museum of Fine Art debates the proper way to list artwork with questionable provenance on the internet. – Boston Herald

A day after the Supreme Court declined to stop them, 150 people posed nude under New York’s Williamsburg Bridge for a photographer. – ABC News

After a decade of high-profile projects, Norman Foster is the pre-eminent British architect of the day. But  how will history judge his work? – The Telegraph

A new wave of interesting public architecture being built in London shows up the embarrassing efforts of the ’70s and ’80s. – The Sunday Times (UK)

So who would buy art online without seeing it in person? The buyer who is intimidated by the gallery “scene” and the traditional culture around buying art. “I like going to galleries, but I’ve found that if you don’t have thousands of dollars to spend, the attitude is they won’t give you the time of day.” – San Jose Mercury News