Category: visual

Revelations that some US museums have asked for commissions on sales of work they exhibit leave other museums scrambling to deny they engage in the ethically questionable practice.  – New York Times

A symposium on art in digital media concluded Saturday with a roundtable of critics, historians and artists at the Berkeley Art Museum. While the internet may have buzz, here – just miles from the i-epicenter of Silicon Valley – the symposium’s 15 panelists almost threatened to outnumber their audience. And though David Ross, director of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, likened the artistic impact of the internet to that of the advent of photography, the panel could hardly even agree on how to define internet art. – San Francisco Chronicle

British opponents of an EU plan to give artists a cut on the resale of their work say the plan will gut the English market and drive art-sellers to Switzerland or New York where the tax won’t be collected. Is that any reason not to let artists share in profits on their work? – The Telegraph (UK)

A wave of lawsuits against Christie’s and Sotheby’s for price fixing amidst a pattern of seemingly lockstep behavior. – New York Times

Metropolitan Museum director Phillippe de Montebello and Guggenheim Museum director Thomas Krens run two of the museum-world’s powerhouses. They have very different ideas of the roles for their institutions in what some call the Golden Age for museums. – New York Times

Designing the modern museum show isn’t simply a matter of glass cases and discreet tags any more. Award-winning museum designers Cel Phelan and Steve Simons make an Event out of some Europe’s biggest exhibitions. – Irish Times

The People’s Republic has included plans for a “massive national museum capable of housing the country’s reserve of cultural relics reflecting the nation’s 5,000-year history” to be built in Beijing. – China Times (Taiwan)

Nostalgic? You bet we are. “We’re more than fond of our architectural heritage, and will do almost anything to preserve the least-deserving Victorian pile. Or streamlined ’30s factory, ’50s school, ’70s office block.” – The Guardian

It’s difficult to love someone without a face. We all have an image of what Jesus looked like, even though there is no physical description in the Bible. Just how did the notion of what Christ looked like evolve? – The Telegraph (UK)

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art teams up with the Webbys to offer $50,000 prize to digital artist with the most impressive work. – Wired