Category: visual

Now Recruiting: A New Company Of ‘Monuments Men’

“A former Gulf War tank commander is recruiting experts to form a specialist unit” — called the Cultural Property Protection Unit — “that will protect cultural heritage in war zones, similar to the role carried out by the famed Monuments Men who saved artistic treasures from the Nazis during the Second World War. … The new unit will draw on members of the [British] Army, Navy, RAF and Royal Marines. Civilians who want to join will have to enlist in the Army Reserves.”

Rembrandt’s ‘Night Watch’ To Get Major Restoration — And You Can Watch The Conservators At Work

“[The director of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam] said it was expected to be a slow and intricate project, which would take several years and cost millions of euros. … The public will be invited to watch the intimate conservation process, both up close in the gallery itself and via an internet livestream, in what is believed to be the biggest ever undertaking of its kind.”

Greece Is Finally Crawling Out Of Its Economic Disaster — What’s Next For Its Art World?

“Since Greece officially ended its decade-long economic bailout this summer, its government has been tentatively moving forward with plans to ease austerity measures on its citizens. … We asked figures from Greece’s art world to reflect on the economic crisis and its effect on the arts, and to look towards the future.”

In The Instagram Age, What’s Next For Photography?

Maybe photographers have been too worried about photography losing relevance. Indeed, it’s highly relevant. “One could argue from this evidence that it is the medium of our time, not just defining our globally connected digital image culture, but propelling it. Even a decade ago, no one could have predicted the seismic shift that has occurred in our relationship with – and use of – the photographic image.”

After Furious Debate, A Place Is Found In Paris For Jeff Koons Tulips

There was an uproar from critics who argued that the gesture was clumsy and opportunistic, if not cynical, as Mr. Koons didn’t have a direct connection to the terrorist attacks. “The general outcry was in part caused by a form of outdated anti-Americanism, but it was also a sincere, offended one,” said Guillaume Piens, the director of the Art Paris Art Fair. “Whenever artists touch on memory and victims, it’s hard to see an uninterested, mere artistic act only.”

What’s The Behind-The-Scenes Story On The Da Vinci Painting Restoration And Its Cancelled Showing?

Jonathan Jones rounds up all of the scuttlebutt – and there’s a lot. “A crucial piece of evidence that Leonardo painted Salvator Mundi also suggests that its restoration has been excessive and has muffled its power. Ironically, this seems to make the work both an original and, in my view, a kind of kitsch concoction.”