Category: visual

It’s not enough that Paul McCarthy had to endure protests and mockery for his Tree in the Place Vendôme. It’s not enough that vandals cut the piece down. He was actually slapped in the face by a passerby. So McCarthy is preparing an “aggressive” response to be added to his soon-to-open installation Chocolate Factory.

“At the turn of the 19th century in the U.S. and Europe, it became wildly popular – and that’s an understatement – for ladies to wear feathers and whole taxidermied birds on their hats. … Ornithologists started to sit up and take notice. One estimated that 67 types of birds – often including all of their sub-species – were at risk for extinction.”

“The concert, to be performed amid the splendour of Michelangelo’s frescoes on Saturday, will be attended by a select group of about 40 high-paying tourists who have signed up to an exclusive tour of Italy organised by Porsche.”

“Sir Nicholas Serota, 68, who has appeared in the top 10 of every list since it launched in 2002, is the first representative of a public museum to reach the top spot.”

“According to a survey conducted by the Swedish Agency for Cultural Policy Analysis, around 60% of artists who showed their work in smaller state museums either failed to get paid or received less than the law dictates.”

“The [museum] has cleared its biggest remaining hurdle to secure its art collection. Last week, the city of Detroit reached a settlement with its largest holdout creditor, the Financial Guaranty Insurance Company (FGIC). As Detroit’s 16-month-long bankruptcy trial comes to a close this week, the 11th-hour deal all but guarantees that the DIA’s collection will not be sold to pay down the city’s debt.”

“Not long ago, our top national art collections were focused primarily on the custodianship of objects in their care, on scholarship and on exhibitions. Today, our museums are also politically engaged, globally connected and incredibly skilled in the arts of international cultural diplomacy, their reach sometimes extending beyond that of governments.”

“If art comes from pain, then James Webster is Michelangelo. He’s suffered from depression, alcoholism, and stroke. He’s been arrested for assault, divorced by two women, and beaten with bats by gangs, and he lived homeless in North Philadelphia for a year. … These days, Webster helps teach art to homeless people at Project HOME, the nationally known Philadelphia nonprofit.”

“Conceived in 2006, one year after Hurricane Katrina, the biennial was created with lofty goals. Billed as a kind of saviour of the struggling city, it was founded by the curator Dan Cameron “on the principle that the art of our time can play a significant role in the revitalisation of an important US city”, according to an early mission statement.”

“It’s resourceful, at least: Instead of going straight for the million-dollar works, an especially DGAF graffiti artist used the reflective surface of a Koons piece by spray-painting the white Whitney wall next to it. All the better to selfie with.” (includes video of incident)