“Whether it’s the gothic ironwork of Brazil’s Santa Justa Lift or the futuristic pods of the Mercedes-Benz Museum or the Aquadom lift that carries riders straight through a massive aquarium, some elevators are so amazing, they become destinations in and of themselves.” (Not to mention the elevator that’s a moving cocktail bar.)
Category: visual
They Named A Schoolhouse After Banksy, So The Artist Left Them A ‘Present’
“It was discovered as teachers returned from the half-term break along with a letter saying ‘it’s always easier to get forgiveness than permission’.”
Art Is Doomed (Says The Guardian’s Art Critic)
“The selfie age is a tragedy for art. … We now want paintings to deliver the same cheap and instant illusion of connection selfies do. To fit into this age of rampant populism, all art has to do is descend into this vacuum of deluded sociability.”
This Painting Was Supposedly Wrecked ‘Beyond Repair,’ But Now It’s Restored
“A glowing landscape framing a tender scene of the Adoration of the Shepherds, by the Italian Renaissance master Sebastiano del Piombo, has re-emerged from three centuries of overpainting, attempts to solve the original disastrous decision to lift it off the 16th century wooden panel and transfer it to canvas.”
An SFMOMA Patron Trips, Falls Into $82M Warhol
“The incident happened Thursday afternoon, and the museum doesn’t seem to want to talk about it, saying there will be no official press release.”
Does A New Art Space Inevitably Mean Gentrification Will Follow?
“Despite its seemingly progressive mission, [new Los Angeles gallery] PSSST has recently received strong opposition from activists both within and outside the Boyle Heights community, some calling for increased dialogue with community groups, while others simply want the space gone.”
The Louvre’s Flood Plan: Close, And Move Everything Up
“In some galleries, it looked as though a family was about to move in — or out. Boxes were subdivided by foam boards, creating spaces for vases and other precious objects. A seemingly abandoned ancient frieze sat on a wooden pallet on the floor of one gallery, half wrapped in plastic sheets.”
Thirteen Top Images Of Stockholm’s Bizarrely Beautiful Subway Stations
“More than 90 of the 100 stations in the 110km tunnel system, sometimes referred to as “the world’s longest art gallery”, have been decorated with paintings, installations, mosaics and sculptures by 150 artists since the 1950s.”
A Debate About Diversity In The Museum World
What portion of the museum field is essentially hostile to ideas like intersectionality, as opposed to merely being intimidated by them? Does AAM have the institutional will to enact policies that support expanding diversity? If that will is absent, what does it take to move large organizations like AAM to become catalysts for profound change in the field? What would the field look like if they did, and, ultimately, how do we deal with these differing, sometimes oppositional viewpoints?
The Painting That Put An End To Picasso’s Cubism
“Picasso’s Fall of Icarus, done in 1958, is a defining and appalling statement of [Hannah] Arendt’s post-epic perspective. It aims to put the era of Guernica behind it.” T.J. Clark looks at both how Picasso created the mural and the contention surrounding its commission for the new UNESCO headquarters in Paris.