Category: visual

“For chump change to a billionaire, Mr. Bloomberg let Citibank alter the color palette of Manhattan. It has distorted every view.”

Probably not. So why do the rumors persist?

“The Wolkoffs own the building and artists put graffiti on it. Over the years, the developers have allowed the graffiti to continue, asking only that it include no pornography, profanity or political messages. It’s an uneasy partnership, but it has lasted for 20 years.”

“‘He’s sort of like Batman,’ Matt Adams, a Williamsburg resident, said as he photographed the Japanese-themed stencil. ‘No one knows who he is, he does his work under cloak of darkness and everyone in New York is looking for him.'”

“Can art’s value be measured in terms of what it would fetch at auction, or does it provide something far greater if less measurable to a community, particularly one desperately seeking a rebound? Is it appropriate to discuss art as a balance-sheet asset, or is this controversy yet another sign of a money-obsessed culture?”

“An authoritarian logo has its merits, and it certainly conveys a cohesive sense of branding, but art museums in particular have the convenience, an obligation even, to push the boundaries of what we’re used to.”

“The brief appearance of a concrete sculpture in Gdansk last Saturday depicting a Red Army soldier raping a pregnant woman has sparked ire on both the Polish and Russian sides. Now the artist could be facing two years in prison.”

“The next mayor can keep architecture and planning front and center or risk taking the city backward. Courage, guile and not a little art will be required to meet the obvious challenge: building on the good parts of Mr. Bloomberg’s urban vision, but also doing some course correcting.”

“Over the last decade, Austria has made significant progress in restoring art and property looted by the Nazis during World War II. Now the government’s commitment to that goal is facing a new test, with the filing of a claim on Tuesday for the return of one of the nation’s most celebrated artworks: the Beethoven Frieze, by Gustav Klimt.

“Sensing a business opportunity in the opaque marketplace of the art world,” the Art Compliance Company “wants to offer the due diligence services common in corporate America to the buyers and sellers of Picassos, Warhols and Gerard Richters.”