But is this ACTUALLY a bad idea? Hm. “The announcement comes after reports that the Upper East Side museum, which was the second-most-visited in the world last year and had a budget of roughly $300 million, is facing a budget shortfall of $10 million. Now, as it looks to capitalize on its collection in unconventional ways, the Met is hoping it can replicate the kind of viral success the Art Institute of Chicago enjoyed recently with its Vincent van Gogh-themed Airbnb partnership.”
Category: visual
The Painting That’s Showing The Faultlines Of Racism In The U.S. Art World
If you’ve somehow missed the controversy over Dana Schutz’s painting of the Open Casket of Emmett Till, this article will lay out not only the various discussions in the art world but also the history of why the painting is so controversial.
The British Museum Gets Its First Permanent Caribbean Art Installation
The artist whose work is on display says it’s a big responsibility. Zak Ové: “Imagine representing the whole of the Caribbean in one moment? … I have to get this right, otherwise I’ll never hear the end of it.”
Inspired By Bakersfield
Artist Mary Weatherford has worked in bookstores and galleries; she has worked for other artists for money – but she has never stopped creating her own art too. Finally, her abstract work is winning her some attention and shows.
Philadelphia Museum Of Art Launches Half-A-Billion-Dollar Fundraising And Renovation Campaign
“The campaign, which already has raised $326 million, according to museum officials, is aimed at completely revamping the interior of the museum, enhancing programming, and adding to the museum’s endowment, which now stands at about $448 million, well below comparable institutions across the country.”
Artists’ Resale Royalties Must Be Paid By Sellers, Rules French Court
“There has been a new twist to an eight-year old legal battle between Christie’s and France’s associations of antique dealers and galleries. A French court stated on 24 March that artist’s resale rights must be paid by sellers, with no exception. Saying that the ruling might hurt the contemporary art market, the auction house is now challenging the judgement in front of the high court.”
Hong Kong Artists Struggle With Expressing Their City’s Angst, Apprehension
“Local artists are struggling to find meaning in the city’s upheavals, art professionals said in interviews. And while some of their recent works are more overtly political than others, many are infused with a sense of helplessness toward what is widely seen here as the city’s increasing subjugation to Beijing’s authoritarianism.”
Museums Have Dramatically Increased The Number Of Shows They’re Presenting
“The average number of shows increased by 7.4% between 2007 and 2015 (from an average of 8.8 shows per year to 9.5), according to an analysis of 2,360 exhibitions at 29 US museums conducted by The Art Newspaper. Institutions are also keeping shows running for longer periods of time. We found that the average number of exhibition days increased by almost 25% during this period.”
Analysis: Contemporary Art Shows Now Dominate American Museums
It was not always this way. Just 20 years ago, Impressionism was king; no contemporary shows cracked the top ten most visited exhibitions in US museums in our 1997 attendance figures survey. Back then, only around 20% of the shows organised by US institutions were devoted to the art of their time. “It’s a definite cultural shift,” says Robert Storr, the former dean of the Yale University School of Art.
Louis Khan Believed The Walls Could Talk
“For Kahn, the ultimate source of architecture’s power was its ability to communicate. He believed that buildings are composed of “universal elements” that have remained essentially unchanged throughout the ages, and so constitute a kind of ancestral spatial language shared by all of humanity.”