Category: visual

“Michelangelo was said to have mixed the pigments for his work and painted the frescos using natural light, and for centuries, the only illumination came through the few windows in the chapel or from candlelight. In modern times, Vatican officials blocked off the windows for fear the sunlight would damage the frescos. In the 1980s, the museum installed a halogen system that emitted low-level lighting to protect the artworks.” Now, things are changing.

“Instead of more two-story homes with lawns, punctuated by the occasional condo, now we seem to be making almost nothing but urban buildings. City buildings. Buildings for people who walk fast and ride the streetcar and take taxis, and stay up late and order takeout.”

“The EU is weighing a restriction on the chemical following pressure from Sweden, which argues that artists pollute the food chain when they rinse their brushes in the sink. Cadmium ends up in sewage sludge and is then spread on agricultural land.”

“The plan also calls for remaking Alameda itself as it runs in front of the station, making it easier for pedestrians and cyclists to navigate. Complicating this goal, the city’s existing plan for Alameda actually anticipates widening the street to make room for the heavier car traffic produced by a busier Union Station.”

“Orchestrated by filling in black-and-red line drawings with bright mineral pigments, the paintings in Cave 85 and the rest of the grotto complex are a rich trove of Buddhist art, illustrating sutras, parables and myriad other aspects of the religion. But their significance extends far beyond that, for the illustrations are important sources of historical information.”

“Victoria Siddall, in addition to her current role as the director of Frieze Masters, has been appointed director of all three fairs, completing the senior management restructure less than a month before its two London fairs are due to open in Regent’s Park.”

“On Wednesday, museum officials announced they would retire [its] remaining $19.8 million in debt by the end of this month. The cost: Two masterpieces and at least another $5 million subtracted from the institution’s investment fund.”

“Three weeks after handing in her resignation, the superintendent of Florence’s museums, Cristina Acidini, is under investigation by the Italian authorities for abuse of office. Also under investigation are the city’s former superintendent Antonio Paolucci, now the director of the Vatican Museums, and Marco Fossi, another employee in Florence’s soprintendenza (now renamed the Polo Museale).”

“The key question is whether the grand bargain — $815 million pledged by foundations, state government and the DIA to bolster city pensions and shield the art from sale by transferring ownership of the museum to an independent nonprofit — represents a reasonable proxy for the value of the collection in the overall context of the city’s plan.”

“The EU is weighing a restriction on the chemical following pressure from Sweden, which argues that artists pollute the food chain when they rinse their brushes in the sink. Cadmium ends up in sewage sludge and is then spread on agricultural land.” Responds one pigment maker, “Artists are not rotters; they are not tipping this stuff down the drain, it’s an expensive substance.”