“The warehouse, he says, offers art owners the same benefits as its better known European counterparts: discretion, security and tax savings. ‘In the past, they would have shipped it to Switzerland,’ he said one morning recently, gesturing at about 20 large crates in a 16,000-square-foot, climate-controlled space.”
Category: visual
Beirut’s Art Scene Is A (Tentatively) Happening Thing, Again
“The creative ferment is happening even as unrest in the region and domestic political instability have ground the economy and tourism to a near halt and threaten to embroil Lebanon in new conflicts.”
The Internet Is Not Going To Let Lego Dictate What Materials Ai Weiwei Can Or Can’t Use
“Social media reaction was predictably ‘awesome.’ Many Lego owners offered to donate their bricks to [Ai] so he could complete his project.”
What Do Westerners Think Africa Looks Like? The Lagos Photo Festival May Change Everyone’s Mind
“‘There is hardly any photojournalism work this year,’ the festival curator, Cristina de Middel, said. ‘And that’s because the classical documentary approach to storytelling on the continent is exhausted.'”
Museums Are Adapting – In Different Ways – To Digital Culture
“The museum of the future functions as seamlessly as an Apple store, makes recommendations like Amazon, speaks in hashtags, loves Tumblr and is ready for its selfie.”
Ai Weiwei Barred From Using Legos For His Artwork
Ai’s Instagram post that explains that Lego refused his bulk order in September with a statement that the company “cannot approve the use of Legos for political works” comes on the heels of news that “British firm Merlin Entertainments will open a Legoland park in Shanghai in conjunction with a Chinese partner.”
Yelp Reviews Of The Broad Museum Are Comedy Gold
“It is housed next to the Walt Disney Concert Hall in a funky white structure that people either love or hate (me, I’m sipping on the haterade). There’s artwork by Murakami, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michael Basquiat, Roy Lichtenstein — basically, all of the T-shirt graphics at UNIQLO.”
Flood Of Antiquities Returned To India As Investigation Into Dealer Continues
“What began as a trickle has now become a flood as more institutions around the world return works of art that were bought from Manhattan antiquities dealer Subhash Kapoor, who ran the now defunct gallery Art of the Past for over three decades. Kapoor is awaiting trial in India on charges of smuggling looted artefacts worth more than $100m.”
So It Turns Out That Hitler Fans Helped Smuggle Nazi Art To West Germany
“The businessman handed him a bundle of cash that he referred to as ‘venture capital’ — and it was clear to both men that this was intended as bribe money to pave the way for the sculptures to come to the West. The dealer says that he no longer remembers the exact amount, but he insists that Wolf regularly sent him large sums of money, usually in padded envelopes and personally delivered by his driver.”
James Turrell Responds To Drake’s ‘Hotline Bling’ Video
Yes, the instantly super hot and addictive video *looks* like it was shot inside a Turrell light artwork, but the artist says otherwise.