Category: visual

“The shutting down of an exhibition in Kiev last month became something of a performance art piece in its own right. The show, ‘Ukrainian Body,’ … aimed to explore corporality in contemporary Ukrainian society.” When the president of the hosting institution saw the show, he promptly came back with the keys and locked the place up – causing a much greater outcry than anyone in Kiev might have expected.

“The objects themselves look interesting, like Mondrians meeting pixellation, but they also point to quirky conceptual phrases. ‘qr.7947423,’ for instance, tells me: ‘I’ve Never Enjoyed the Price of Freedom.'”

“Unesco listed the entire Wedgwood archive as one of Britain’s top 20 cultural assets in 2011. It has condemned the threatened break-up of the collection. Prominent Royal Academicians, including artists such as Christopher Le Brun and Tracey Emin, have urged the Government to intervene.” And so it may.

“Officials said this week that ‘Still Life With Meadow Flowers and Roses’ is the work of the Dutch master and that he likely created it while living with his brother, Theo, in Paris in the 1880s.”

“Conditions for migrant workers on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi – the site of future branches of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums – have improved, but problems continue, Human Rights Watch said in a progress report issued on Wednesday.”

“The t-shirts, bearing the logo ‘Orthodoxy or Death’, are designed by Igor Miroshnichenko, a former underground artist and fashion designer who became a Russian Orthodox Christian monarchist. They feature a cross, skulls, crossbones and knives, and have been openly displayed by Orthodox activists.” A Moscow court has upheld a ruling that the logo is an extremist work and therefore illegal.

Gehry did not attend the hearing, but sent a letter defending the sculpture of a young Eisenhower, saying it is intended to inspire children and “give them courage to pursue their dreams and to remind them that this great man started out just like them.”

“Doug Aitken’s latest piece cascades across the Hirshhorn’s entire 82-feet tall and 725-feet wide circumference, as the ‘first-ever work of 360-degree convex-screen cinema’ of this scale. To make it all happen, trees were trimmed, street lights got anti-glare, and the FAA was consulted to make sure the exhibit wouldn’t disrupt flight landings.”

“Rumours of widespread forgery began in 2008 when Bonhams rejected a work, Lady in White, by Dimitrios Galanis (1880-1966) and said ‘further research’ on the work was needed. The sheer volume of works coming on to the market also raised suspicions, especially as the country has relatively few well known modern artists.”

“Aesthetics went out of style when America’s voracious appetite for freeway lanes squeezed out every consideration but raw auto throughput. So the Hill Bridge is a rarity today. Less brawny than Calatrava’s most spectacular creations, its delicacy delights as it pops into view all over town.”