|
Port Hope council seeks input on cultural plan
Municipality to examine whether to build a dedicated cultural centr
northumberlandnews.com, 31 May 2012
PORT HOPE, ON - PORT HOPE -- Residents know Port Hope has culture. Now council wants to put that culture on display for everyone outside Port Hope's boundaries to see. Port Hope council is looking for public comment on a draft copy of the municipality's cultural plan, which could include plans for a dedicated cultural centre for Port Hope. A draft of the cultural plan will reflect the unique character of Port Hope and its residents, according to Lord Cultural Resources (LCR), which presented its draft cultural plan to Port Hope's committee of the whole recently.
15 M$ pour agrandir la Réserve muséale
L'Actuel, 29 Mai 2012
QUEBEC - "La Réserve muséale de la Capitale nationale, propriété du Musée de la civilisation, est pleine à craquer. Afin d'agrandir le bâtiment actuel pour répondre aux besoins de plus en plus criants du Musée, le gouvernement a annoncé un investissement de 15 M$ provenant du Plan québécois des infrastructures."
El tratamiento que puso en peligro las pinturas rupestres de Lascaux
Un estudio del CSIC afirma que los productos que usaron las autoridades francesas en la histórica cueva favorecieron la aparición de nuevos hongos en vez de su eliminación
Manuel Morales, El Pais, 24 May 2012
MADRID, SPAIN - "Fue peor el remedio que la enfermedad. Los productos —biocidas— que utilizaron los técnicos del Ministerio de Cultura francés para frenar en 2001 la proliferación de hongos que invadieron las célebres pinturas rupestres de la cueva de Lascaux, en Montignac, propiciaron la aparición de otros hongos y bacterias. Así lo afirma un estudio del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) publicado por la revista Environmental Science and Technology."
Art Gallery of Mississauga facing identity crisis
Joe Chin, Mississauga.com, May 15, 2012
MISSISSAUGA, ON – "The Art Gallery of Mississauga is, without a doubt, one of the best-kept secrets in this city. Not many residents have set foot in the facility even though it’s been around for a quarter century and is centrally located in City
Hall. Last night, the AGM took the first step in confronting the problem when it hosted a roundtable discussion with
the public. "
Montreal artworks damaged by flooding after downpour
The Canadian Press, CBC News, 31 May 2012
MONTREAL, QC - "Hundreds of works of rare art have been damaged at one of Montreal's main museums by heavy rains that battered the city, flooding basements and overwhelming the city's aging infrastructure. 'We have one to three feet of water in our basements,' Paulette Gagnon, director of the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art, said Wednesday. 'Part of the basement holds our reserves so of course some of our reserves were damaged.' "
Academy picks Renzo Piano, L.A.'s Zoltan Pali for movie museum
Christopher Hawthorne, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2012
LOS ANGELES, CA - "Last year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced it was abandoning a pricey plan to build a movie museum in central Hollywood designed by French architect Christian de Portzamparc. Instead the academy struck a deal with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to lease the old May Co. building, known as LACMA West, at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. It turns out the academy isn't just using LACMA's building; it's also going to use LACMA's architects. Renzo Piano and L.A architect Zoltan Pali, the academy announced Wednesday, will team up to turn the 1939 May Co. structure, one of L.A.'s classic Art Deco landmarks, into a museum celebrating the history of the film industry." [See also Piano, Pali to Convert Moderne Landmark into Movie Museum, by Fred A. Bernstein, Architectural Record, May 30, 2012]
Twombly Gets N.Y. Home
Mansion Near Met to Show Artist's Work
Josh Barbanel, The Wall Street Journal, 30 May 2012
NEW YORK, NY - "In the 1950s, Cy Twombly, a prominent American artist known for his paintings with large childlike scribbles, lived and worked in New York. Now, nearly a year after his death in Rome, his oeuvre is coming back to a new home on the Upper East Side. On Tuesday, a foundation he set up paid $27.75 million to buy a 25-foot-wide Beaux Arts mansion on East 82nd Street, with a plan to turn the five-story space into an education center and a small museum to celebrate the artist's work and burnish his reputation."
Kenya to build Africa's first underwater museum
Construction on the museum, which will be dedicated to the study of marine life and shipwrecks, is set to begin soon
Gitonga Njeru, guardian.co.uk, 28 May 2012
KENYA - "Kenya is on the brink of building Africa's first underwater museum, which will be dedicated to studying marine life and shipwrecks. Designs of the proposed museum, which is expected to be open in 2014, have already begun with the help of US architects and a budget for construction costs is being discussed at government level."
Museu Imperial abre inscrições para oficinas realizadas durante Rio +20
Ibram, 25 May 2012
BRAZIL - "O Museu Imperial/Ibram preparou uma programação especial para a Conferência das Nações Unidas sobre Desenvolvimento Sustentável, Rio +20, que acontece no Rio de Janeiro de 13 a 22 de junho. Entre as atividades, estará Em torno da floresta – exposição, instalação, oficinas, coordenada pela artista plástica, arquiteta e ambientalista Vera Patury."
Celebrating the Decade of the Heritage Museum starting in Chile
Ibram, 22 May 2012
CHILE - "Celebrating the date, representatives of museums in Latin America have proposed the creation of the Decade Heritage Museum (2012-2022). The initiative includes the implementation of actions to strengthen the area during a period of 10 years, culminating with the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of the Round Table of Santiago de Chile in 2022.
"
La Catalogne fixe des objectifs-tests à trois de ses musées
Journal des Arts, 29 Mai 2012
BARCELONE, ESPAGNE – "Dans le cadre de son plan pour les musées de Catalogne, la communauté autonome a signé des accords avec trois de ses musées. Définissant les objectifs stratégiques des musées, ces contrats servent de test à une nouvelle façon de les gérer, qui pourraient s’étendre à toutes les institutions, s’ils s’avèrent concluants."
Un Musée Grévin à Prague en 2014
La Presse (Canada), 24 Mai 2012
PRAGUE, REPUBLIQUE TCHEQUE – "Un Musée Grévin va ouvrir à Prague en 2014, a annoncé jeudi la Compagnie des Alpes, exploitant du Musée Grévin de Paris et de ses célèbres personnages de cire, qui attirent 800 000 visiteurs par an."
Sharjah Heritage Museum opened
Lily B. Libo-on, Khaleej Times, 23 May 2012
SHARJAH, UAE — Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, opened the Sharjah Heritage Museum on Tuesday, in the presence of several government dignitaries, a number of senior officials and directors of government departments and authorities, and international media representatives.
Children's Museum selects developer for Winona site
IBJ Staff, IBJ.com, 23 May 2012
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - "The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis announced Wednesday that it has selected The Whitsett Group LLC to redevelop and operate part of the former Winona Hospital site. The neighboring museum is acting as lead developer for the site on North Meridian Street, which has been abandoned since the hospital closed in 2004. The redevelopment is expected to include residential, commercial and public space."
A Museum, Reborn, Remains True to Its Old Self, Only Better
Roberta Smith, The New York Times, May 17, 2012
PHILADELPHIA, PA — "The Barnes Foundation's move from suburban Philadelphia to the center of the city caused art lovers lots of worry. Devotees of this great polyglot collection, heavy with Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse, which the omnivore art shopper Albert C. Barnes amassed between 1912 and his death in 1951, were appalled by the idea. Barnes spent years obsessively arranging his installation cheek-by-jowl in the mansion in Lower Merion, Pa., that he built for the purpose and opened in 1925, and he stipulated that, after he died, it should remain exactly as it was." [see also Paging Dr. Barnes: New Downtown Philadelphia Foundation Works Overtime to Stay True to Its Founder's Vision, by Benjamin Sutton, Artinfo, 17 May 2012.]
Paul Magnette accélère le projet de création d’un musée à Bruxelles
La Connaissance des Arts, 16 Mai 2012
BRUXELLES, BELGIQUE – " Le ministre belge des Entreprises publiques, de la Politique scientifique, de la Coopération au développement, chargé des Grandes villes, Paul Magnette a réactivé récemment, selon Le Soir, le projet de création d’un musée d’art contemporain à Bruxelles. Il est vrai que la capitale belge est, encore à ce jour, dépourvue de pareille structure. "
Vie de château pour le RER C
Le Figaro, 16 Mai 2012
PARIS, FRANCE – " D'ici la fin de l'année, une rame sur quatre de la ligne C qui dessert Versailles s'habillera de décors royaux. "
Après le départ de son président, le MAXXI de Rome est mis sous tutelle
Le Journal des Arts, 14 Mai 2012
ROME, ITALIE – "Alors que la menace de mise sous tutelle planait depuis la mi-avril 2012, le ministère de la Culture italien a finalement pris en charge directement, le 10 mai, l’administration du musée d’art contemporain du XXIe siècle (MAXXI)."
Tour Victoria’s Royal B.C. Museum’s latest dinosaur exhibit
Richard Watts, Victoria Times Colonist, Monday, May 14, 2012
VICTORIA, BC – "New ideas about ancient dinosaurs are on display at the Royal B.C. Museum, breathing life into our imaginings of how these extinct creatures moved and lived. Opening Thursday, the exhibit from the prestigious American Museum of Natural History in New York offers more than just peeks at re-assembled skeletons. It also has footprints, various fossils and computer-generated visions of moving dinosaurs."
Le Japon en devant de scène
Retour sur la civilisation des samouraïs
Etienne Plamondon-Emond, Le Devoir, 12 mai 2012
QUEBEC CITY, QC – "Cap vers le pays du Soleil levant au Musée de la civilisation de Québec (MCQ). Pour la première fois, le MCQ consacre quatre expositions et une foule d’activités estivales à un seul pays, le Japon.
Le point de départ de cette aventure japonaise : les 150 flamboyants ensembles de la riche collection privée
d’Ann et Gabriel Barbier-Muller, prêtée cet été au musée pour l’exposition Samouraï, inaugurée le 4 avril
dernier. Comme le principal critère des Barbier-Muller pour acquérir un objet se base sur l’esthétisme, cette
salle nous donne à voir des armures plus excentriques les unes que les autres. Les pièces proviennent pour la
plupart de la période Edo, une longue période de paix allant de 1615 à 1868, qui a permis aux artisans et aux
armuriers de rivaliser de créativité."
Estonia to open maritime museum in seaplane hangar
The Miami Herald, www.miamiherald.com, 11 May 2012
TALLINN, ESTONIA – "Estonia will open the Baltic states' largest maritime museum in a hangar once used by Charles Lindbergh. The main attractions at the (EURO)15 million ($20 million) Seaplane Harbor will be a British-built submarine dating from the 1930s and a life-size replica of the 184 seaplane, a British two-seater designed by Short Brothers. The unique concrete hangar housing the museum was built in 1916-17 when Estonia was part of czarist Russia. Its most famous guest was Lindbergh, the U.S. aviator, who flew there from Moscow in 1933 as part of his tour around Europe."
Massachusetts MoCA welcomes artistic Canadians
Jennifer Huberdeau, Bennington Banner, 11 May, 2012
NORTH ADAMS, MA – "Get ready for a Canadian invasion.
More than 100 works by 62 Canadian artists and artist collectives will fill the galleries of the Massachusetts
Museum of Contemporary Art for "Oh, Canada," on May 26, marking the start of the museum’s 14th season."
Lottery support for new Dundee V&A museum
Plans for a new V&A museum in Dundee have been given the backing of the Heritage Lottery Fund.
BBC News, 11 May, 2012
SCOTLAND, UK – "The project has received £200,000 with hopes that a further £9.2m grant will be forthcoming in the months ahead. Those behind the new museum now have two years to develop further plans and show how they would use the multi-million pound award. The £45m museum, which is located at Craig Harbour on the banks of the River Tay, is due to open in 2015."
Belgique : conflit public entre le directeur du Musée de la Photographie de Charleroi et son ministre de la Culture
Le Journal des Arts, 11 Mai 2012
CHARLEROI, BELGIQUE – " D’après le site RTBF, Xavier Canonne, directeur du musée de la Photographie de Charleroi, ne pourrait plus remplir sa mission avec l'actuelle enveloppe budgétaire. Il reproche à la ministre de la Culture " une méconnaissance totale de la réalité des musées " et affirme que " dans quatre ans, le musée fermera purement et simplement ses portes si la politique de Fadila Laanan n’est pas sérieusement revue ".
Le Japon accoste en Bretagne
Le Figaro, 10 Mai 2012
BRETAGNE, FRANCE – " Douze musées bretons mettent à l'affiche leurs œuvres marquées par le pays du Soleil-Levant. "
Back to Top
The client-oriented visionary
Guo Jiali, China.org.cn1, 1 June 2012
CHINA - "Canadian-American Frank Gehry, who many consider to be an icon of modern architecture, is among four finalists in the competition to design the National Art Museum of China’s new site, which will be located in the area between the Bird’s Nest and China Science and Technology Hall. Gehry's best-known works include the titanium-covered Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, which has turned the small and unknown city in Spain into a world famous tourist destination over night."
Grafting a Herzog & de Meuron Addition Onto a 13th-Century Cloister, a Provincial French Museum Dreams Big
Juliette Soulez, ARTINFO France, 31 May 2012
FRANCE - "The town of Colmar in eastern France has selected Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron to renovate and expand its medieval Unterlinden Museum and the neighboring Place Unterlinden. By adding a new wing and an underground gallery, the extension — which will cost €30 million ($37.6 million) — will double the museum's size, bringing it to over 86,000 square feet."
Eisenhower Family Still Unhappy with Gehry’s Memorial Design
Ben Adler, Architectural Record, 31 May 2012
USA - "Ever since Gehry Partners unveiled changes to its design for the national memorial to President Dwight Eisenhower on May 15, the big question has been whether the Eisenhower family will now support the design. The adjustments, such as changing bas reliefs to statues and making one statue depict Eisenhower as a young man instead of boy, were made in response to complaints from the Eisenhowers that the 34th president was not properly honored in the original scheme." [See also Changes to Eisenhower Memorial revealed, WAN, 16 May 2012]
I. M. Pei accepts fourth annual Leonore and Walter Annenberg Award for Diplomacy through the Arts in Washington D. C.
World Architecture News, 24 May 2012
WASHINGTON, DC - "I. M. Pei accepts fourth annual Leonore and Walter Annenberg Award for Diplomacy through the Arts in Washington D. C. The Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE) honoured architect I. M. Pei with the fourth annual Leonore and Walter Annenberg Award for Diplomacy through the Arts on 15 May, 2012, in a presentation at the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Reception Rooms. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hosted FAPE’s members at the event, and FAPE Chairman Jo Carole Lauder presented the award to Mr. Pei."
À Lyon, une dernière pulsation pour l'Hôtel Dieu
Libération, 20 Mai 2012
LYON, FRANCE – "Squatté cette année par les Nuits sonores, le vieil hôpital du centre-ville de Lyon doit subir de lourds travaux pour se transformer entre autres en hôtel de luxe. Certains Lyonnais regrettent cette dépossession. Visite guidée avec l'architecte du projet."
A blast from the past
Foster + Partners to collaborate with Adrien Gardere on museum design in Narbonne
World Architectural News, 18 May 2012
NARBONNE, FRANCE - "The new Musee de la Romanitee Narbonne is clean-lined and classic in form, its overhanging canopy casting welcome shade over a generous public plaza. This is the winning scheme in an international competition for the project, devised by Foster + Partners in collaboration with interior designer and museum specialist Adrien Gardere."
MOCA Cleveland's New $27-Million Building Relaunches the Institution as a Cutting-Edge Kunsthalle
Julia Halperin, Artinfo, 17 May 2012
CLEVELAND, OH - "For many galleries, moving into a ground-floor space is a rite of passage. For a museum whose primary function is to serve the public, such a move is all the more significant. Late this summer, the staff of MOCA Cleveland will leave its retrofitted location on the second floor of a former department store and set up shop inside a brand-new, stand-alone building in the heart of the city’s emerging arts district. The $27-million Farshid Moussavi-designed, hexagonal space will be the anchor of one end of the Uptown neighborhood, near Case Western Reserve University. (The other is occupied by the Cleveland Institute of Art.) The building will be Moussavi’s first in the United States, as well as her first museum."
EMBT Designs Zhang Da Qian Museum in Neijiang
David Cohn, Architectural Record, May 15, 2012
CHINA - "Construction will start this year on a museum dedicated to the work of artist Zhang Da Qian. Located in Neijiang, in Sichuan Province, the project was designed by Benedetta Tagliabue, head of the Barcelona studio Miralles Tagliabue EMBT. Zhang Da Qian was born in Nejiang in 1899. Although he left China in 1948, never to return, he is avidly collected in China, and is one of several artists credited with bringing traditional Chinese painting into the 20th century. He was the world's top-selling artist at auction houses last year with over $500 million in sales, unseating Picasso for the first time in 14 years, according to the magazine Artinfo."
David Chipperfield, architecte du nouveau musée des Beaux-Arts de Reims
La Connaissance des Arts, 15 Mai 2012
REIMS, FRANCE – " Le cabinet d’architectes britannique David Chipperfield a été choisi, parmi plus de 139 candidats, pour concevoir le nouveau musée des Beaux-Arts de Reims. Financé par la ville de Reims, l'État français et la région Champagne-Ardennes, le projet devrait coûter, au total, 55 M EUR. "
Soma Architects' animated Thematic Pavilion realised on the shores of Yeosu, South Korea
World Architecture News, www.worldarchitecturenews.com, 15 May 2012
YEOSU, KOREA – "The Thematic Pavilion for the EXPO 2012 planned by the Austrian architecture office soma opened in Yeosu on 12 May. soma’s design proposal One Ocean was selected as the first prize winner in an open international competition in 2009. The main design intent was to embody the Expo’s theme The Living Ocean and Coast and transform it into a multi-layered architectural experience. Therefore the Expo’s agenda, namely the responsible use of natural resources was not visually represented, but actually embedded into the building, i.e. through the sustainable climate design or the biomimetic approach of the kinetic façade."
Warsaw dissolves contract with Museum of Modern Art architect
Warsaw Business Journal, www.wbj.pl, 14 May 2012
WARSAW, POLAND – "Warsaw City Hall has dissolved a contract with the architect of the planned new building of the Museum of Modern Art, Christian Kerez. Mr Kerez, who is from Switzerland, was to design the facility after his initial plan won an international architectural competition in 2007. During a press conference last week, Jacek Wojciechowicz, deputy mayor of the city of Warsaw, told journalists the reason for the dissolution was "Mr Kerez’s incapability of changing the competition concept into a realistic building design"."
Caroline Stephens visits HAT Projects' Jerwood Gallery on the coast of Hastings, UK
Caroline Stephens, World Architecture News, www.worldarchitecturenews.com, 14 May 2012
HASTINGS, UK – "I recently visited HAT Projects’ new Jerwood Gallery as part of The Regency Society’s Seaside Galleries Tour (3 seaside galleries in a one day trip; the Towner at Eastbourne by Rick Mather, the Jerwood at Hastings by HAT Projects and the Turner at Margate by David Chipperfield)."
Search, l’audace à quatre mains
La Connaissance des Arts, 14 Mai 2012
L’Agence Search est lauréate du concours pour la construction de la Maison des sciences de l’homme Paris-Nord à Saint-Denis, livraison prévue en 2012.
" Je ne veux plus faire disparaître, mais harmoniser "
Libération, 13 Mai 2012
FRANCE – " Interview - L’architecte japonais Kengo Kuma, 58 ans, a décroché trois grands chantiers en France. Sa ligne : conjuguer élégance et écologie. "
Negative media for Santiago Calatrava in Valencia over escalating project costs
Sharon McHugh, World Architecture News, www.worldarchitecturenews.com, 11 May 2012
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – "On Wednesday, world-renowned architect Sanitago Calatrava unveiled his Museum of Tomorrow; a project that is intended to revitalise Rio de Janeiro's waterfront in time for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics. But closer to home, in his native Spain, troubles are brewing over the escalating costs of his City of Arts and Sciences, a giant cultural park that some say is his greatest project."
Kingdom Come
An interview with Carol Willis, the director of New York City's Skyscraper Museum, explores the reasons for so many supertalls being built in in far-flung places. The Kingdom Tower by Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill in Jeddah Saudi Arabia is also discussed.
Suzanne Stephens, Architectural Record, May 2012
NEW YORK, NY - "What is your definition of a 'supertall' building?
In the Supertall! exhibition at the Skyscraper Museum in Lower Manhattan [on view July 27–February 19, 2011], we set a benchmark higher than the standard 300 meters used by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). To be included in the show, the building had to be at least 380 meters (1,250 feet)—the height of the Empire State Building—and likely to be topped out by 2016. (It takes an average of five years to complete a supertall.) Forty-eight projects met these criteria for the show. "
Back to Top
Getty Unleashes "Google Books for Art," an Art Star Arena Battle in Arles, and More Must-Read Art News
Artinfo, 1 June 2012, 2012
USA - "Getty Unveils "Google Books for Art": The good folks at the Getty have launched a Web site, dubbed the Getty Research Portal, which is being described as "an art-specific version of Google Books." The cool new initiative aims to upload art historical texts online and make them searchable to anyone with an Internet connection. To date, the Getty has collaborated eight institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Columbia University, to cull about 20,000 art-related titles."
L’Institut Français passe à l’ère numérique
Journal des Arts, 28 Mai 2012
PARIS, FRANCE – "Le numérique et Internet bouleversent la diffusion culturelle. C’est pourquoi l’Institut Français multiplie les plates-formes sur le web ainsi que les partenariats avec d’autres acteurs culturels pour enrichir les contenus proposés. "
Un nouvel éclairage « écologique » pour La Joconde
Journal des Arts, 28 Mai 2012
PARIS, FRANCE – " Depuis 2010, Toshiba rénove le système d’éclairage du musée du Louvre, mettant à disposition de l’institution parisienne ses dernières technologies d’éclairage basse consommation qui réduit l’impact environnemental. Après les luminaires extérieurs, le groupe japonais va s’atteler à l’éclairage de plusieurs salles d’exposition dont la salle qui abrite La Joconde. "
Software Development as Artistic Practice: How Open Source Is Changing the Way Art is Made
Kyle Chayka, Artinfo, 25 May 2012
USA – "Artists are notoriously secretive about their processes. Rothko never revealed the complex formulas behind his diaphanous color fields. Picasso gave his famous dictum, 'Bad artists copy. Good artists steal,' which may have been why Brancusi was so loathe to let the Cubist into his studio. But what about when sharing becomes a fundamental part of the artistic practice? For new media artists, whose work embraces the latest innovations in computing technology and digital imaging, being transparent with their working process is a fundamental part of being a member of the creative community — everyone copies and adapts from each other, sharing strategies, tools, and techniques."
Queen Victoria’s Complete Diaries Released Online
JENNIFER SCHUESSLER, The New York Times, 24 May 2012
LONDON, UK -"As part of her Diamond Jubilee celebration, Queen Elizabeth II has established a Web site featuring the complete personal journals of Queen Victoria, the only other sovereign in British history to have celebrated 60 years on the throne. The project, undertaken in collaboration with the Bodleian Libraries at Oxford and ProQuest and available at www.queenvictoriasjournals.org, marks the first time that Queen Victoria’s diaries have been published in their entirety, as well as what Queen Elizabeth, in a message on the site, called 'the first major public release of material from the Royal Archives.' "
WikiLoot: A Proposal to Battle Art Smuggling with Crowdsourcing
Naina Singh, Technology in the Arts Blog, 24 May 2012
USA - "If they do indeed exist, the Greek and Roman Gods are bound to be upset. Century after century, they have been removed from their temples in Italy and Greece to be preserved, conserved, and admired in heathen lands. Even in Egypt, the rage of the pharaohs could only be an incandescent gold. But what must really infuriate these divinities and demigods is when they are looted, smuggled, and acquired illegally. The looting of antiquities has always been the muddier undercurrent of archaeology but a recent development called WikiLoot may placate the immortal theoí, superi, and more importantly, the countries wrongfully bereft of their cultural heritage."
Were the Cavemen of the Danube Flutists?
Bone flutes found in southern Germany push back the date human creativity evolved.
Jennifer Welsh, Discovery News, 24 May 2012
GERMANY - "The flutes are the earliest record of technological and artistic innovations characteristic of the Aurignacian period.
- The Danube River was a key corridor for the movement of humans and technological innovations into central Europe.
- Neanderthals as well as modern humans may have lived in this area around the same time.
Early modern humans could have spent their evenings sitting around the fire, playing bone flutes and singing songs 40,000 years ago, newly discovered ancient musical instruments indicate. The bone flutes push back the date researchers think human creativity evolved."
American Association of Museums Trend Watch 2012
Naina Singh, Technology in the arts, 17 May 2012
USA - "The American Association of Museums recently published a report titled Trends Watch 2012, Museums and the Pulse of the Future. According to AAM, the field of museology could beat to the rhythm of seven emergent practices in upcoming years. Namely, these are crowdsourcing, alternative social enterprises, public engagement, microgiving or crowdfunding, changing demographics, augmented reality, and new educational opportunities. Of these trends, crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, and augmented reality will be explored in detail as technology fuels their very existence while the arts nourish their popularity."
Le "printemps numérique" de la RMN-Grand Palais
C/Blog, 14 Mai 2012
PARIS, FRANCE – "La Rmn-Grand Palais vit un "Printemps numérique" en 2012, avec le lancement de deux nouvelles plateformes de publications en ligne : le portail photographique araGo [...] et le webzine Grand format qui accompagne le calendrier culturel de nos événements."
Back to Top
The victory of the void, a defeat for the Taliban
The Bamiyan Buddhas will not be rebuilt, says Unesco. The architect Andrea Bruno proposes a scheme that focuses reverently on their absence
Anna Somers Cocks, The Art Newspaper, 31 May 2012
UNESCO - "When Andrea Bruno, an architectural consultant to Unesco for the past 40 years, went back to the Bamiyan Buddhas, blown up in March 2001 by the Taliban, he immediately scrapped all ideas he might have had about some sort of replacement. 'The void is the true sculpture,' he says. 'It stands disembodied witness to the will, thoughts and spiritual tensions of men long gone. The immanent presence of the niche, even without its sculpture, represents a victory for the monument and a defeat for those who tried to obliterate its memory with dynamite.' " [See also Tenth anniversary of Taliban’s destruction of ancient buddhas, by Emily Sharpe, The Art Newspaper, 1 March 2011]
From tea and pastries to whale meat buffets, Canada's Diamond Jubilee celebrations
Janet Davison, CBC News, 31 May 2012
CANADA - "When Canadians mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee this year, they'll be doing more than sipping tea and savouring sweet pastries. For sure, enjoying a cup of Earl Grey will be part of some community celebrations to honour Elizabeth's six decades on the throne. But some events are scheduled to offer more diverse local fare — such as whale and reindeer meat — and to give Canadians the chance to do everything from making their own fascinator hats to appreciating art that reflects the country's cultural heritage."
The new Elizabethan age: the arts, architecture, fashion and technology
The reign of Queen Elizabeth II has seen an end to the old certainties of prewar Britain – but a surge of achievements to be proud of
Melissa Denes, Steve Rose, Jess Cartner-Morley and Charles Arthur, The Guardian, 30 May 2012
LONDON, UK - "Elizabeth II's coronation was the first to be televised. Winston Churchill advised against it, but the Princess was keen. Did she have any idea how central a role television would play in her reign? Probably not, and an eternity of Royal Variety Performances is perhaps not the legacy she wants to hand down to her successors. But TV has become the dominant art form: its audiences are vast; it's an elastic, democratic medium that can do straight, silly, satirical, heart-breaking. It's also an astonishing archive: Michael Apted's 7 Up will be watched in 2212, when Simon Cowell's shows are barely remembered."
New Tri-National Masters Program Could Make You a Member of the Globe-Trotting Arts Administration Elite
Julia Halperin, Artinfo, 30 May 2012
NEW YORK — "Today, three universities announced that they are joining forces to launch a new — and, as they see it, unprecedented — program in international arts management. A partnership between Southern Methodist University in Dallas, HEC Montreal, and SDA Bocconi in Milan, the one-year master’s program seeks to capitalize on the international growth of art institutions, promising to train a new generation of administrators to navigate an increasingly globalized world where money is tight (except in China and the Middle East) and cultural differences still hamper collaboration."
Draft due diligence guidelines
What are your thoughts on Museums Association's ethical guidelines for disposal by sale?
Museums Association, 30 May 2012
UK - "The MA has drafted new guidelines to help museums behave ethically when they are considering selling items from their collections, and to support practioners who are directed to sell items or collections for financial gain by their governing body. They set out all the things you need to think about and who you should consult. They’ve been drafted by Janet Ulph, as part of a fellowship funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council."
We Had to Start Something New": Art Fairs and Museums Unite for September's Inaugural Berlin Art Week
Alexander Forbes, Artinfo Germany, 30 May 2012
BERLIN, GERMANY — "Programming for the inaugural Berlin Art Week — the latest moniker for the September weekend that includes the Art Berlin Contemporary (abc) and Preview Berlin art fairs, but not Art Forum Berlin, which has been canceled — was announced by representatives from the participating fairs and institutions during a gathering in city hall today. Pointing to Berlin’s Fashion and Music weeks, as well as the upcoming DMY design week, Sybille von Obernitz, Berlin’s senator for economy, technology, and research, said that there was an obvious gap to be filled. However, reflecting the furrowed brows across the room, Silke Neumann, speaking on behalf of abc later clarified, 'This is not the first time we have all stood together.' "
After Protests, Vandalism, and Legal Theater, South Africa's Nude Presidential Portrait Saga Finds Closure
Reid Singer, Artinfo, 30 May 2012
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA- "A legal dispute between the African National Congress (ANC) and Johannesburg's Goodman Gallery over a controversial painting of President Jacob Zuma has been settled out of court, the Financial Times reported today. Created by the artist Brett Murray and displayed in an exhibition titled 'Hail to the Thief II,' the painting depicted South Africa's president in a heroic, Lenin-style stance. Like other works in the show, it appeared to riff on the visual language of Soviet-era propaganda posters, though in this case, it also portrayed the President's genitals hanging prominently out of the fly of his pants. Rendered in fiery red, yellow, and black acrylic paint and titled 'Spear,' the painting was taken as more than a little provocative given the uncommon delicacy of sex and race relations in South African culture." [See also South African President Zuma, gallery settle case over painting, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2012]
Arsenale 2012, Kiev biennale, review
A thoughtful exhibition unites works by Ukraine's homegrown artists with major installations by Ai Weiwei and Louise Bourgeois at Kiev's first biennale.
Florence Waters, The Telegraph, 29 May, 2012
KIEV, UKRAINE - "Kiev’s first biennale takes place in an old weapons arsenal on a pretty hilltop street that overlooks a sea of apartment blocks typical of cities of former Soviet states. Peace and quiet is broken only by the solemn chime of church bells from the adjacent monastery in the walled city of Pechersck Lavra, which is one of the oldest centres of the Eastern Orthodox Church and still a popular pilgrimage destination."
Jackson Pollock art returned to Iran museum
BBC News, 29 May 2012
TEHRAN, IRAN - "A $250 million (£159m) painting by US artist Jackson Pollock has been returned to the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art in Iran after being held in a row over unpaid debts. Mural on Indian Red Ground was seized by the country's customs service on 11 May after being on loan to Japan. The service said it confiscated the work over money owed by the Ministry of Culture, which runs the museum."
La grande foire de l'art contemporain de Hongkong garde son accent asiatique
Le Monde, 29 Mai 2012
HONG KONG – " Pour sa cinquième édition, le salon d'art contemporain de Hongkong avait promis "mieux et plus", un an avant de passer officiellement sous la coupe d'Art Basel, la foire des foires, organisée en juin en Suisse et qui a déjà repris, il y a une dizaine d'années, le salon d'art contemporain de Miami ..."
The Marrakech Biennale's Radical Decontextualization of International Artworks Raises Cultural, and Curatorial, Conflicts
Tess Edmonson, Artinfo, 27 Mai 2012
MARRAKESH, MOROCCO - "Two rows of large-scale posters with Arabic text frame the columned portico of the Théâtre Royal, the entrance to the main venue for “Higher Atlas,” the visual arts section of the Marrakech Biennale. A collective of unnamed artists, identifying themselves only as jamaat, Arabic for “group,” had selected phrases from the festival’s bilingual French-English reader, Higher Atlas: The Marrakech Biennial in Context, and posted their Arabic translations. Ostensibly created to appeal to the local public, the posters also hint at the difficulties in commissioning site-specific work from more than 35 artists who, for the most part, don’t speak Arabic—an act of performance publishing that underscores the alien presence of the posters’ authors. The text was pulled from the curatorial statement written by Berlin-based Carson Chan, one of the exhibition’s curators (along with Nadim Samman), who acknowledged that even he couldn’t read it. Whereas the Marrakech Biennale’s model of production proposes possibilities for a shared experience across heterogeneous demographics, the group’s work calls attention to certain pragmatic impossibilities inherent in such an attempt."
From Southampton to South Florida, Art Miami Plans East Coast Domination With Three New Fairs in 2012
Julia Halperin, Artifo, 25 May 2012
MIAMI, FL - "By all accounts, it’s never been more difficult to launch an art fair than it is today. Competition is fierce, participating galleries are overextended, and collectors are exhausted from flitting from fair to fair. But that hasn’t stopped Art Miami LLC from working to expand its brand. By the end of this year, the 23-year-old fair company will have launched no fewer than three new ventures: Art Wynwood, a mordern and contemporary art and design fair that debuted in Miami over President’s Day weekend; Art Southampton, a contemporary and modern fair launching in July on Long Island; and CONTEXT, a contemporary fair running alongside Art Miami in December."
Arts council announces Artsmark educators
Trinity College London to run scheme from September
Museums Association, Rebecca Atkinson, 25 May 2012
UK - "More than 1,500 schools and other education providers across England have been awarded an Artsmark status to recognise the high quality of their arts and cultural provision to pupils. This is the first application round since the programme was re-launched last September to include further education colleges and youth justice settings. Arts Council England (ACE), which runs the programme, said Artsmark now has a greater focus on the quality of arts provision as well as the quantity."
What If Your Prized Painting Turns Out to Be Nazi Loot? The Niche Market for Art Title Insurance
Shane Ferro, Artinfo, 23 May 2012
USA - "Can insurance be sexy? Maybe in the art world. In 2007, FBI agents showed up at the office of film director (and celebrity art collector) Steven Spielberg to reclaim a Norman Rockwell painting, "Russian Schoolroom," that was hanging on the wall. While Spielberg had purchased the work legally, it turns out that it had been stolen from a St. Louis art gallery in 1973 and he did not have clear title to it. The unregulated nature of the art market makes it easy to run up against legal troubles, especially with works valued in the six- and seven-figures. As with the Spielberg case, scandals in the art market often arise from questions of ownership: Think of the endless chain of Nazi restitution claims. This is where art title insurance — a niche but growing market — enters the picture."
Flog it? How to Sell It Right
Museums Association, Maurice Davies: blog, Maurice Davies, 22 May 2012
UK - "Selling things from museums used to be out of the question. But now it might be turning into a normal part of museum work. There are occasional high-profile and highly controversial proposals to sell paintings for hundreds of thousands of pounds. Recent examples include Royal Cornwall Museum, Bolton Museums and Southampton Museums (who in the end didn’t sell anything)."
I Encuentro Iberoamericano de Buenas Prácticas en Proyectos Expositivos
Tendrá lugar el 30 y 31 de mayo en el Centro Patrimonial Recoleta Dominica, Santiago de Chile
ibermuseus.org, 22 May 2012
CHILE - "Como parte del inicio de las celebraciones de la Década del Patrimonio Museológico (2012-2022) y de la conmemoración de los 40 años de la Declaración de la Mesa Redonda de Santiago de Chile, la Subdirección General de Museos de Chile (Dibam) convoca este acto, que ha coordinado con el apoyo del Programa Ibermuseos. En el Encuentro, que ha sido diseñado en un formato de Taller, se presentará durante sus tres días una selección de buenas prácticas en diseño e implementación de exhibiciones permanentes. Los proyectos participantes fueron seleccionados dentro del ámbito museal iberoamericano a través de la convocatoria de identificación lanzada el pasado mes de febrero y publicada en el portal de Ibermuseos."
The dodgy numbers game
Was the 2011 joint turnover of the Chinese auction houses $154.2bn, $148.5bn, $88.1bn—or much less?
Wang Tao, The Art Newspaper, 17 May 2012
CHINA - "If you believe the statistics, as many art indexes and investment funds seem to, China is overtaking the US to become the world’s highest spending art and antiques market. But is this true? The figures, after a closer look at the reality of the mainland Chinese auction scene, suggest that conclusion is debatable."
Notorious Legal Crusader Sues Czech Republic, Demanding the Return of $50 Million in Nazi-Plundered Art
Reid Singer, Artinfo, 16 May 2012
FLORIDA, USA- "The controversial legal advocate Edward D. Fagan has opened a case against the Czech Republic and its museums on behalf of Michal Klepetar, a Czech national who claims the government is in possession of more than a hundred works of art that were taken from his ancestors by the Nazis during World War II. The works, which Klepetar values at more than $50 million, are part of a collection that once belonged to his great-uncle Richard Popper, who perished along with his wife and daughter in 1941 or 1942 after being deported from Prague to the Lodz ghetto in Poland."
Easter Island statues have full bodies and contain ancient petroglyphs
Yahoo News, 15 May 2012
EASTER ISLAND, CHILE - "Explorers have long known there was more to the 887 statues on Easter Island—some 2,000 miles west of Chile—than just the statue heads made famous in photographs. When most people think of the renowned monolithic statues, they think of the heads only. But in October 2011, the Easter Island Statue Project began its Season V expedition, revealing remarkable photos showing that the bodies of the statues go far deeper underground than just about anyone had imagined."
Leonard Cohen accepts Glenn Gould Prize, gives away the $50,000
NICK PATCH, The Globe and Mail, 15 May 2012
TORONTO, ON - "Leonard Cohen humbly accepted the Glenn Gould Prize on Monday, but not the $50,000 prize that accompanied it, instead donating the cash to the Canada Council for the Arts. The 77-year-old Cohen struck a modest tone as he claimed the award, first by hushing a standing ovation and then by offering his reassurance to the roster of musicians set to perform in his honour."
Quand les graffitis rhabillent le mobilier urbain
Le Figaro, 15 Mai 2012
PARIS, FRANCE – "Boîtes aux lettres, poubelles, plaques de métro s'exposent, revues légalement par 19 graffeurs."
Le Man Ray Trust souhaite se séparer de sa collection
Le Journal des Arts, 15 Mai 2012
NEW YORK, ETATS-UNIS – " D’après le Wall Street Journal, les œuvres composant le Man Ray Trust seront proposées aux musées en vente privée. L’enjeu est de taille pour les héritiers gérant le trust, la valeur totale du fonds ayant été estimée à 20 millions de dollars en 2007."
L'art d'aimer l'argent
Le Monde, 11 Mai 2012
FRANCE – "A LA QUESTION DE SAVOIR ce qu'il y a de commun entre les artistes, les galeristes et les collectionneurs, certains répondront l'art, d'autres l'argent et tout le monde aura raison. Entre le dernier livre d'Anne Martin-Fugier, Collectionneurs, et celui de Judith Benhamou-Huet, Les artistes ont toujours aimé l'argent, ce qu'il y a de commun, c'est la difficulté de saisir un ordre, une logique, une morale, un système, et même une histoire des rapports entre l'argent et l'art. C'est sans doute ce qui rend leur lecture palpitante : va-t-on enfin savoir à quoi s'en tenir ? Qui corrompt, domine l'autre ? Qui est plus fort que l'autre ? Qui a gagné ?"
Le Prix d’archéologie 2012 pour la mission d’Ulug-Dépé au Turkménistan
La Connaissance des Arts, 11 Mai 2012
ULUG TEPE, TURKMENISTAN – "La mission archéologique franco-turkmène d'Ulug-Dépé a reçu le Prix d'archéologie del Duca 2012. Décerné par la Fondation Simone et Cino del Duca et l'Institut de France, et accompagné d'une enveloppe de 200 000 EUR, ce prix récompense annuellement une mission archéologique française contribuant à la préservation du patrimoine mondial."
Back to Top
What Critics Get Wrong About Creative Cities
Richard Florida, The Atlantic Cities, 30 May 2012
WASHINGTON, DC - " Last week, a post over at Forbes blared the headline 'Richard Florida is Wrong About Creative Cities.' The post, written by Adam Ozimek of the Modeled Behavior blog, reviews University of California Berkeley economist Enrico Moretti's book The New Geography of Jobs. Moretti’s book devotes several hundred pages to the roles that clustering and concentration play in innovation, firm formation, and job creation, echoing observations made by Michael Porter, Edward Glaeser, and me. Then, in about two or three pages, he criticizes my alleged theory that, as Ozimek puts it, 'making a city an interesting place to live is a good prescription for economic development.' "
In Argentina, disused power plant is now art hub
An abandoned power plant in Buenos Aires dating back to the early 20th century has been transformed into a cultural centre, a key part of plans to revitalise the relatively poorer, southern area of Argentina's capital
AFP, Ahram Online, 29 May 2012
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA - " The old brick factory topped with a giant tower, built by the Italian-Argentine electricity company from 1914 to 1916 by Italian architect Giovanni Chiogna, had been nearly forgotten along the highway to La Plata. Now, in the middle of the working class La Boca district, not far from the famed "La Bombonera" stadium where the Boca Juniors club plays, the so-called "Art Factory" (Usina del Arte) is gleaming and attracting new attention. Beams of light high in the sky installed by Japanese artist Ryoji Ikeda symbolise the hope for the renaissance of the area, thanks to the new center dedicated to music, theater, dance and art, which opened its doors on Friday. 'This brings hope to the south of Buenos Aires, which suffered from decades of abandon,' said the city's mayor Mauricio Macri."
How to finance a cultural utopia
Matthew Westwood, The Australian, 22 May 201
AUSTRALIA - "With the release last week of the Australia Council review, a hypothetical picture begins to emerge of life under the National Cultural Policy. Arts Minister Simon Crean announced the review late last year as part of his policy deliberations. Now that Gabrielle Trainor and Angus James have delivered their report on the arts-funding agency, Crean has a suite of reviews of the cultural sector that may shape the NCP, including Harold Mitchell's on sponsorship and philanthropy and Glen Boreham's on media convergence. Crean may also take account of findings from Ken Henry's white paper on Australia in the Asian century, due mid-year."
The price of being female
The Economist, 20 May 2012
NEW YORK, USA - "Much fanfare greeted the $388m made by Christie's post-war and contemporary evening sale in New York earlier this month—its highest total ever. Few seemed to notice that the auction was unprecedented in another way: it had ten lots by eight women artists, amounting to a male-to-female ratio of five-to-one. (Sotheby's evening sale offered a more typical display of male-domination with an 11-to-one ratio.) Yet proceeds on all the works by women artists in the Christie's sale tallied up to a mere $17m—less than 5% of the total and not even half the price achieved that night by a single picture of two naked women by Yves Klein. Indeed, depictions of women often command the highest prices, whereas works by them do not."
Of marbles and men
Turkey gets tough with foreign museums and launches a new culture war
The Economist, 19 May 2012
TURKEY - "In the spring of 1887 a Lebanese villager named Mohammed Sherif discovered a well near Sidon that led to two underground chambers. These turned out to be a royal tomb containing 18 magnificent marble sarcophagi dating back to the fifth century BC. The Ottoman sultan, Abdul Hamid II, ordered the sarcophagi exhumed, placed on rails and carried down to the Mediterranean coast, where they were sent by ship to Istanbul. The largest sarcophagus was believed to contain the remains of Alexander the Great. The coffin is not Turkish and Sidon is now in Lebanon, but the sarcophagus is regarded as Istanbul’s grandest treasure, as important to the archaeology museum there as the 'Mona Lisa' is to the Louvre."
Architects Versus Economists: The Battle for the Future of Urbanism, From Honduras to Upstate New York
Kelly Chan, Artinfo, 18 May 2012
WORLD - "Great cities are works in progress. Their forms are nurtured over time, left over by generations like layers of geological strata. But in the past few years, the demand for cities has spiked exponentially, with little time allotted for their painstaking maturation. Seven billion people are predicted to live in cities by 2050 — twice the current urban population — and, as if a global biological clock had gone off, government leaders and developers are now attempting to leapfrog centuries of gradual development and erect entirely new capitals from the ground up in Honduras, South Korea, China, and beyond. Yet, as entire metropolises are being built from scratch, the role of the architect remains curiously uncertain. Two theories have emerged at this dawn of rapid urbanization: one that threatens to wholly dismiss architecture and another that places immeasurable faith in its faculties."
On a testé Track à Gand
La Connaissance des Arts, 14 Mai 2012
GENT, BELGIQUE – " Sous le titre de " Track " (parcours), quarante-et-une œuvres d’art et installations ont été réparties dans six quartiers de Gand par Philippe Van Cauteren, le directeur du musée d’art contemporain de la ville (SMAK), et Mirjam Varadinis, commissaire du Kunsthaus de Zurich. "
Back to Top |
LordCultural 
LordCultural 
LordCultural
