Category: visual

— stands by its recent leadership decisions, despite petition by prominent artists condemning them. – CBC

A Hartford artist whose exhibition of artwork depicting sex aids was canceled last fall by nervous city officials, has made a settlement with Hartford City Council. The city will pay the artist $2,500 after she complained that the city had violated her First Amendment rights by canceling her show. – Hartford Courant

A blue-chip roster of leaders from the Vancouver cultural community, including architect Arthur Erickson, author/curator Doris Shadbolt and artist Gordon Smith, is calling for the resignations of the executive board and the interim director of the Vancouver Art Gallery. – Vancouver Sun

Whale painter Wyland, who has made a career of wandering up and down the West Coast painting giant sea-life paintings on the sides of buildings, has proposed to bring his show inland. To Oklahoma City, no less. But the city’s arts commission has declared the project isn’t in keeping with the character of the historic district in which Wyland proposes to work, and turned down permission for it. – The Oklahoman

Last summer Chicago’s art cows were the hit of the town. Now Cincinnati is planning a Big Pig Gig and Toronto is courting moose (mooses?). So Buffalo, well, what else would the city deploy but the big brown beasts? The project has been a hit with artists, sponsors and the public. Look for the first herd in May. – Buffalo News

In February Hawaii’s Bishop Museum turned over rare Hawaiian artifacts to Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai‘i Nei in accoradance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. Hui Malama officials told museum staff the artifacts were reburied in a Big Island cave. But now some critics say the items should go back to the Honolulu museum because of concerns over their security. – Honolulu Advertiser

Germany posts list of Nazi-stolen art on the internet. “Over 2,200 works of art, as well as 10,000 books and coins have already been indexed on the pages of www.LostArt.de. These works have been called the “Linzer Collection” because they include paintings intended by Hitler for a “Führer Museum” in the Austrian city of Linz.” – Die Welt (Germany)

“The Internet makes this information available to the most people possible. Those who have survived can now easily search for what they have lost. If they are unable, their children or grandchildren can search for them.” – Wired

— posts web list of seven European paintings whose provenance, or history of ownership, may implicate them in the widespread looting of art in Europe during the Nazi era. – Boston Globe

MFA acknowledges that “there are gaps in the ownership history of at least 200 other works in its European collection and that some of these artworks also could be cause for concern.” – Boston Herald

Some 100 of Vancouver’s most prominent visual artists and critics have signed a petition demanding the resignation of the Vancouver Art Gallery’s acting director and the the museum’s board of directors who appointed him. The petition says that “to appoint an unqualified individual with no experience directing a gallery or public institution is irresponsible and reckless.” The museum’s previous director “left in the wake of series of disagreements with the board, the most recent a clash in which he was pressured to mount a show of photographs by rock star Bryan Adams.” – The Globe and Mail (Canada)

“I’m very bothered by the conflict of interest of having a board member take over as director of the gallery.” – CBC