“It’s not a very complicated story,” says a source close to the Met. “Tom was a curator. He was plucked out to run a big job—not just director but director and C.E.O. He forged an agenda with the board. He had some management issues. They together made all these decisions to get ahead on digital. Tom wasn’t on his own. They together decided to invest in modern and contemporary. The place is politically, totally insane. Al
Category: visual
Miami Beach’s Bass Museum Schedules Reopening (For The Third Time)
“The third time’s the charm. Following two postponements caused by construction delays, Miami Beach’s city-owned Bass art museum has announced its October 2017 reopening following a $12 million renovation project.”
International Coalition Pledges $75 Million To Protect Heritage Sites In War Zones
In coordination with UNESCO, the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH) aims to prevent heritage site destruction, fight trafficking of stolen artifacts and pay for restoration. But it also seeks to create a global network of storage and safeguarding sites.
A Political Whitney Biennial? Sure, But Not In A Partisan Way…
Reviewers have criticized past biennials for being too politicized and ideological. Director Adam Weinberg says that the biennial isn’t meant to lean left or right. The goal is to find “voices that really get very close to the bone of American culture…from an aesthetic point of view,” he says, “and also from a larger, cultural point of view.” He adds, “The exhibition is not a finger wagging, and it’s in no way trying to be hectoring or lecturing.”
A Man Walked Into The British National Gallery And Used A Screwdriver To Attack And Damage A Gainsborough
The east wing of the National Gallery was evacuated Saturday after the man, whom the police later said had “no fixed abode,” twice slashed the surface of Thomas Gainsborough’s “The Morning Walk,” a 1785 commissioned portrait of a young couple and their dog.
Polaroid Swing Is The Rebranding Of The Original Instant Selfie Company For The Digital Era
Hmmmm. “The company, which launched its Polaroid Swing app last summer, has taken the name and spirit of Polaroid and repackaged it into a new enterprise with a mission, it says, to create a ‘living photograph,’ a step toward something you might see in the Harry Potter movies.”
The ‘Born Burglar’ Who Stole Van Goghs Tells All
But the Van Gogh Museum is not OK with his sudden fame. “‘The last 14 years have been a roller coaster of hope, disappointment and agony,’ the museum’s director, Axel Rüger, said in an interview. ‘All the time this man is sitting on this information. He knew exactly what he had done and he never breathed a word. To us it feels as if he is seeking the limelight.'”
Robert Morris Is (Perhaps) Not A Minimalist Anymore, But He’s Sculpting More Than Ever
And he’s wonderfully smart, spicy, thoughtful and funny in this Q&A with the NYT:
“Wasn’t it a stretch to execute a sculpture from dirt?
“I have always worked in more than one direction at a time. As the scorpion said after stinging the frog ferrying it across the river, ‘It is my nature, what can I do?'”
What Happened To One Muralist’s Piece In Oklahoma City, And What That Says About The Public Art World
Artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh writes on Instagram, “My America Is Black mural was taken down in Oklahoma City because, despite having permission to install the work from the building owner, all murals in OKC must go through a proposal process and be approved by the OKC Arts Commission. The OKC Arts Commission has 15 commissioners. 14 of which are white. 11 of which are men.”
Chromophobia – Western Architecture Is Paralyzed By A Fear Of Color
David Batchelor: “As with all prejudices, its manifest form, its loathing, masks a fear: a fear of contamination and corruption by something that is unknown or appears unknowable. This loathing of colour, this fear of corruption through colour, needs a name: chromophobia.”