Category: visual

“Embattled philanthropist Dede Wilsey, who waged an all-out campaign to stay on as head of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco amid probes into whether she improperly spent the institutions’ money, won approval Tuesday to extend her reign as the city’s queen of culture – although with a new title and possibly less power.”

The feat was “spurred in large part by a $42.5 million pledge from billionaire bond-trader and Western New York native Jeffrey Gundlach. … [His] gift was designed to flush out millions in matching donations from Western New York foundations, corporations and individuals as well as state, county and city government. It did just that.”

“[Wim] Pijbes left the position of general director of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam over the summer to lead the Voorlinden, a private contemporary art museum in Wassenaar that was founded by the Dutch art collector and businessman Joop van Caldenborgh. ‘We both had the feeling that it was better for both of us and for the museum to stop and to quit,’ Mr. Pijbes said in a telephone interview.”

“The Basrah Museum has been planned for eight years and will join the National Museum in Baghdad as one of the most important institutions in Iraq. For the first time in a generation, the people of southern Iraq will have their own museum – a great achievement under extremely difficult circumstances.”

“Even the anti-development activists who see every tall building in Los Angeles as a giveaway to moneyed interests or a threat to the existing character of the city may find something to admire here. We’d be wise to hold on to some skepticism, though.”

This is what can happen if you’re really bad at organizing an event and then not paying attention when things hurtle out of control…

“Ahmad Al Mahdi could have faced up to 30 years in prison, but mitigating circumstances—including his guilty plea, his initial reluctance to destroy the sites and his co-operation with the prosecution—meant this term was reduced.”

“The designs that may one day replace the existing hellish landscape [sic] of the Port Authority Bus Terminal are finally here. Earlier today, the Port Authority revealed the five finalists and their mammoth proposals for a new bus terminal as part of the agency’s international design and deliverability contest.” (Aw c’mon, it’s not that bad.)

“The American debut of the European Fine Art Fair … is more than just another event on the cultural calendar. It’s an attempt by the fair, whose 270 exhibitors face a shrinking audience in Europe, to secure and revitalize its future.”

“Huyghe, 54, succeeds last year’s inaugural winner, Colombian artist Doris Salcedo, who received, as Huyghe will, the $100,000 grand prize, along with a special award created by Italian architect Renzo Piano, who designed the Nasher.”