Category: visual

“The tapestries are epic, intricate pieces, spanning up to thirty feet in length and weighing an average of 100 pounds – which begs the question of how, exactly, the museum hangs them. Luckily, the Met released a video illustrating the surprisingly arduous procedure of mounting van Aelst’s work.”

“The viewing process has become harder as the smartphones that Jay and Bey use to take their selfies have become omnipresent. The phone gets in the way of contemplating a single work on a blank wall; it creates a constant temptation to document your surroundings or check your email, Twitter, and Facebook.”

“Culture Minister Costas Tassoulas said Wednesday that UNESCO has urged Britain to consider a year-old proposal to participate in a mediation process to resolve the world’s most famous heritage dispute.”

The group of 81 Cubist works – including works by Picasso, Braque, Léger, and Gris, and donated by Leonard Lauder last year – “marks a turning point for the Met that includes new curatorial hires, a planned renovation of its Lila Acheson Wallace Wing and an expansion into the building currently occupied by the Whitney Museum of American Art.”

“Weighing 700 pounds and with a wingspan of nearly 9 feet, the statue is a rare surviving example of the ultimate Third Reich symbol of an eagle perched atop a swastika.” A Montevideo businessman salvaged it from the wreck of a battleship and wants to sell it; the government of Germany would rather it sink back into the River Plate (but would settle for having it smelted); the Uruguayan government is stuck in the middle.

“Looking for all the world like a cluster of gigantic stone termites’ nest, a colossal vegetable patch, a gingerbread house baked by the wickedest witch of all or perhaps a petrified forest, this hugely ambitious church has confounded architects, critics and historians ever since its unprecedented shape became apparent soon after World War I.”

“I am over hearing from people within jogging distance of the Chelsea galleries that the whole of contemporary art is over; that art is no longer emotionally or intellectually fulfilling; that art is too expensive even for millionaires. I’m done reading articles titled ‘Why Does So Much New Abstraction Look the Same?,’ written by people who haven’t figured out that Manhattan has bridges and tunnels and a subway.”

Anila Quayyum Agha’s light installation Intersections won the vote for the $200,000 Public Grand Prize outright and split the $200,000 Juried Grand Prize with Sonya Clark’s Hair Craft Project.

“The grave may be that of a relative or general of Alexander’s, archaeologists have speculated. Some suggest it may even belong to his mother, Olympias, or his wife, Roxana.”

“The library is located in a village called Jiaojehe, about 90 minutes outside Beijing; the town houses fewer than 200 people. In this still-rural setting, Li designed a simple building, less than 2,000 square feet, that is wrapped on the outside by a lattice made from fallen branches.”