“At excavations 11 miles east of Rome’s city center, archaeologists think they are catching a glimpse of Roman tastes in monumental architecture much earlier than previously thought, about 300 years before the Colosseum.”
Category: visual
Artist Flees Russia As Police Seize Painting Of Putin In Lingerie
Police in St. Petersburg confiscated four satirical paintings – including one of Putin, wearing a slip, combing the hair of Prime Minister Medvedev, in bra and panties – from a small gallery called the Museum of Power. Artist Konstantin Altunin has reportedly fled to France, where he will seek asylum.
France Says It Wants To Return Art Looted In WWII, But –
“No additional funds have been earmarked for research, and no additional staff members have been hired or dedicated to this project … There is one employee assigned to research unclaimed art in French museums – a laborious process.”
French Art Business Figures Warn Against VAT Increase
“High-profile trade figures in the French art world have warned the government that a proposed rise in VAT affecting works of art imported into France from outside the European Union will seriously undermine the country’s standing in the global art market.”
Is This LA MoCA’s Next Director?
“Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam director Ann Goldstein has resigned from that position. Goldstein has been identified as a possible successor to departing MOCA director Jeffery Deitch. Goldstein, who was senior curator at MOCA before she left to direct the Stedelijk, will leave the Amsterdam museum’s top job Dec. 1.”
Italians Question Expensive Expansion When Museum Had An Average Of Two Visitors A Day
Centro per l’arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci in Prato is the only contemporary art museum in Tuscany. “Over the course of 2012, the institution–located 20km north of the art-rich city of Florence–only sold 760 tickets for a total sum of €11,921, which averages out at €30 a day.”
Looters Steal 18th-Century Artworks From Colonial-Era Church In Andes – Again
“Thieves have again stolen treasures from a colonial-era church in Bolivia, including priceless 18th century oil paintings. The Roman Catholic church in the small town of San Miguel de Tomave has been looted three times in the last five years – and it’s not the only one.”
David Hockney’s Double-Sided (If Not Conflicted) Relationship With Technology
Part of his aesthetic is still, as Lawrence Weschler puts it, “adamantly hand-rendered”. Even so, Hockney has always had “an uncanny openness to technological innovation, the eager willingness to delve into any and all manner of new gadgetry.”
This 1,600-Year-Old Goblet Shows That The Romans Were Nanotech Pioneers
“The glass chalice, known as the Lycurgus Cup because it bears a scene involving King Lycurgus of Thrace, appears jade green when lit from the front but blood-red when lit from behind – a property that puzzled scientists for decades” until researchers with microscopes discovered the ingenious secret within the glass.
Michigan’s Art Museums Hang In Despite State’s Woes
“The Detroit Institute of Arts is gathering most of the media attention paid to the state’s cultural sector these days … Michigan’s other art museums appear to have capably weathered the recession.”