|
| |||||
 |
| ||||
|
| |||||
|
|
Or follow on  LordCultural  LordCultural  LordCultural | ||||
|
| |||||
|
Uli Sigg Donates His Storied Chinese Contemporary Art Collection to Hong Kong’s M+ Museum Madeleine O'Dea, ARTINFO China, 12 June 2012
HONG KONG – "Legendary art collector Uli Sigg is to donate the major part of his collection of Chinese contemporary art to Hong Kong’s M+ museum. The donation, which has been "conservatively valued" by the museum at HK$1.3 billion ($163 million), was announced today and includes works by 350 artists including Ai Weiwei, Ding Yi, Fang Lijun, Geng Jianyi, Gu Wenda, Huang Yongping, Liu Wei, Wang Guangyi, Xu Bing, Yang Shaobin, Yue Minjun, Yu Youhan, Zeng Fanzhi, Zhang Peili, and Zhang Xiaogang. Sigg’s collection has been built up over more than 20 years and is widely considered to be the most comprehensive collection of Chinese contemporary art in private hands anywhere in the world. The donation is a huge fillip to M+, which is slated to open in the massive West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) in 2017. [See also La plus grande collection d'art contemporain chinois offerte à un musée de Hongkong, Le Monde, 20 Juin 2012 and See the Highlights from Uli Sigg's Legendary Chinese Art Collection, Soon to Be Housed in Hong Kong's M+ Museum, Xue Tan, ArtInfo, 26 June 2012]
| |||||
|
| |||||
|
Cultural News, a monthly global round–up of what’s happening in culture, is a free service of Lord Cultural Resources. Excerpts are directly quoted from the articles – please click on the links to read the full articles on the original news sites. To receive it in your inbox rain or shine, please press the subscribe button above – it will take less than 30 seconds to become a subscriber. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest digest of cultural news.
| |||||
Our Clients and Lord Cultural Resources in the News
BCHCC looks ahead to a new future Lloydminster Meridian Booster, 27 June 2012
LLOYDMINSTER, AB, SK – "A redesign process of the Barr Colony Heritage Cultural Centre, which began about a year ago, called on community members to build the future image of the city’s museum. Representatives from the City of Lloydminster, Barr Colony Heritage Cultural Centre advisory board, Lord Cultural Resources and the community took part in a focused planning session from June 5 to 7. The city has contracted the services of Lord Cultural Resources, out of Toronto, to help with the redevelopment of the aging facility. Brad King, vice president management consultancy Lord Cultural Resources, was in Lloydminster to help gather the community resources involved in reconstructing the city’s history and preserving it for the future." [See also Mayor Mulligan's Blog: Weekly Update, Mayor Mulligan's Blog, 7 June 2012]
Une nouvelle "rock" star à Los Angeles Le Monde, 27 Juin 2012
LOS ANGELES, ETATS–UNIS – " La photogénie et l'incongruité de la nouvelle installation extérieure du LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art), lui assurent un accueil digne de ses voisines hollywoodiennes depuis son inauguration officielle en grandes pompes et en présence du maire de la ville, dimanche 24 juin. Levitated Mass, œuvre de Michael Heizer, consiste en un rocher de granite de 340 tonnes suspendu au dessus d'une allée en béton où les visiteurs peuvent déambuler. " [See also L.A.'s newest, biggest rock star has 'em in awe, CBC News, 25 Juen 2012]
North Dakota Heritage Center topic of meeting in Fargo tonight Jessica Ballou, Grand Forks Herald.com, 25 June 2012
FARGO, ND — "Officials from the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck will visit the Plains Art Museum in Fargo tonight at 7 to get public opinions on the center’s $51.7 million expansion. The project involves adding about 97,000 square feet to the existing building with new workspaces, labs and exhibit galleries, the latter of which will cost $7.7 million."
The 9/11 Museum Needs More Funding, Governors Say MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ, The New York Times, 16 June 2012
NEW YORK – "Amid the seemingly interminable wrangling over financing for the National September 11 Memorial Museum, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York and Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey sent a letter to the National Park Service on Saturday seeking federal money for the project."
Rio+20: Sept jours pour choisir entre apocalypse et monde meilleur 20 Minutes, 14 Juin 2012
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRESIL – "Lancé par le Programme des nations unies pour l’environnement, le jeu "Forward Rio+50" rassemblera les joueurs pendant la durée du sommet Rio+20 autour d’un challenge de taille: construire une ville plus verte."
Philanthropist announces $40M challenge grant toward planned Revolution museum in Philly Associated Press, The Washington Post, 12 June 2012
PHILADELPHIA, PA – "Cable TV mogul and philanthropist H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest announced a $40 million challenge grant Tuesday for a planned American Revolution museum in Philadelphia’s historic district. The announcement came as designs were unveiled for the Museum of the American Revolution, slated to open in 2015 a few blocks from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. The red brick, classically styled museum by architect Robert A.M. Stern will be constructed on the site of a former visitor center built for the 1976 Bicentennial. It will house George Washington’s tent and other Revolutionary War-era artifacts, manuscripts, rare books and art owned by The American Revolution Center, the nonprofit educational organization that is building the museum." [See also Design Shown for Museum of American Revolution, The New York Times, 11 June 2012]
Luminato is trending at last: Knelman Martin Knelman, Toronto.com, 12 June 2012
TORONTO, ON – " "The warm breeze, the Rufus Wainwright concert, the windsocks . . . Luminato delivers." The tweet came from Cameron Bailey, artistic director of TIFF, who was among the special guests taking in the free outdoor concert in David Pecaut Square on Sunday evening. And it was part of a trend. There’s a lot more to this story than tweets, but tweets provide the happy headlines."
Louvre Museum to open its first branch ever Dec. 4, French Ambassador says Marsha Dubrow, examiner.com, 6 June 2012
FRANCE – "The Louvre Museum will open the first branch ever in its three–century history, France's Ambassador François Delattre announced in Washington June 5. The satellite Louvre will open December 4 in Lens, a tiny former mining town in France's northernmost region Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The Louvre-Lens will "put the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region on the cultural map," Ambassador Delattre told a small group of reporters at DC's Citronelle Restaurant. Why Lens and Calais? It's only about an hour by train from Paris, London, and Brussels, and only a brief ferry or Chunnel trip away from England's white cliffs of Dover –– which you can see on a clear day."
Corcoran Gallery to test market for sale of landmark building David Montgomery and Jacqueline Trescott, The Washington Post, 4 June 2012
WASHINGTON, DC – "After more than a century of occupying a handsome Beaux-Arts building at one of Washington’s high-profile addresses, on 17th Street NW across from the White House, the Corcoran Gallery of Art is considering a move to another neighborhood, possibly even to Maryland or Virginia. The chronically underfunded institution is the city’s oldest private art museum. It posted a $7.2 million deficit for the fiscal year ended last June and is considering moving because it would cost an estimated $130 million to bring its landmark home up to modern museum standards, Corcoran Director and President Fred Bollerer said. But even then, there still wouldn’t be enough space to display the art properly and support the growing Corcoran College of Art and Design."
Museums
Smithsonian Regent Roger Sant gives $10M to National Museum of Natural History in DC Associated Press, 27 June 27
WASHINGTON, DC – Businessman and philanthropist Roger Sant and his wife Vicki are giving $10 million to endow the director’s position at the National Museum of Natural History and to support its research and programs, the Smithsonian Institution announced Wednesday.
Public Arts Buildings Sweep RIBA Awards Patrick Steel, Museums Journal, 25 June 2012
LONDON, UK – "Museums and galleries featured heavily in the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Awards for architectural excellence, announced last week. Of 50 buildings around the UK, six museums and galleries received a regional award. Winners in Scotland included the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, designed by Gareth Hoskins Architects, and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, designed by Page/Park Architects; in Yorkshire The Hepworth Wakefield, designed by David Chipperfield Architects; in the South West and Wessex, The Holburne Museum, Bath, designed by Eric Parry Architects; in the South East the Turner Contemporary, Kent, designed by David Chipperfield Architects; and in London the White Cube, designed by Casper Mueller Kneer Architects."
La Ville de Paris crée un nouvel établissement public réunissant les 14 musées municipaux Journal des Arts, 21 Juin 2012
PARIS, FRANCE – " Le Conseil de la Ville de Paris a voté le 20 juin la création d’un nouvel Etablissement Public Administratif (EPA) rassemblant les musées municipaux. Ainsi réunis au sein de l’EPA, les 14 musées de la Ville de Paris vont bénéficier d’une plus forte autonomie juridique et financière. "
495 000 visiteurs pour Matisse Libération, 21 Juin 2012
PARIS, FRANCE – " L’exposition " Matisse. Paires et séries " qui vient de fermer ses portes au Centre Pompidou, a accueilli près de 495 000 visiteurs du 7 mars au 18 juin, soit une moyenne de 5490 visiteurs par jour. Elle se classe en sixième position des expositions les plus fréquentées du Centre.
La longue saga judiciaire du permis de construire de la Fondation Louis Vuitton Journal des Arts, 20 Juin 2012
PARIS, FRANCE – " La cour administrative d’appel de Paris a infirmé le jugement de première instance de janvier 2011, qui avait annulé le permis de construire du musée d’art contemporain du groupe LVMH. Le projet conçu par l’architecte Franck Gehry et contesté par la Coordination de sauvegarde du bois de Boulogne, va ainsi pouvoir aboutir, malgré les années de retard accumulées par rapport au plan initial. "
L’agence K/R choisie pour le futur musée d’Architecture contemporaine d’Hangzhou Connaissance des Arts, 13 Juin 2012
HANGZHOU, CHINE – "L’agence d’architecture américaine Keenen/Riley (K/R) a été sélectionnée pour concevoir le nouveau musée d’Architecture contemporaine de la ville d’Hangzhou en Chine."
Turkey turns up the heat on foreign museums The list of antiquities demanded gets longer as more exhibitions are hit by the loans boycott Martin Bailey, The Art Newspaper, 13 June 2012
TURKEY – "Turkey is set on a collision course with many of the world’s leading museums, by refusing exhibition loans because of antiquities claims. European museums that are being targeted include the Louvre, Berlin’s Pergamonmuseum, the British Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. In America, claims are being lodged against New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Cleveland Museum of Art and Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC. Turkey’s tough new approach was first reported by The Art Newspaper (March 2012, p1, p10; April, p6)."
EU Targets Money Laundering With New Regulations For Art Galleries Riah Pryor, The Art Newspaper, 13 June 2012
BELGIUM – "Lowering the threshold will not make life more difficult for money launderers. It will, however, make business more difficult for the art trade. It is the smaller dealers in antiques and lower-end fine art who accept cash: and they're the ones suffering most in this economic climate."
Museums 2020: we need more collaboration Museum professionals call for more partnership working inside and outside of the sector Patrick Steel, Museums Association, 12 June 2012
UNITED KINGDOM – "As museum professionals respond to Museums 2020, the Museums Association’s initiative to plot a vision for the future of museums, an emphasis on collaboration, both inside and outside the sector, is emerging."
2012 Serpentine Pavilion opens in London The World Architecture News.com, 6 June 2012
LONDON, UK – "Last weekend the 2012 Serpentine Pavilion opened in Kensington Gardens to flocks of animated Londoners and culture-hungry tourists. Each year, the Serpentine Gallery selects one architect or practice that has never completed a building in the UK to create a temporary pavilion in Kensington Gardens. Much ado has been made this year over the selection of Herzog & de Meuron as lead architects on the project as their expansive portfolio already lists the conversion of the Bankside Power Plant in London into the treasured Tate Modern, a contemporary art museum on the banks of the Thames."
Musée des Beaux–arts / David Chipperfield Architects ArchDaily, 4 Juin 2012
REIMS, FRANCE – "Arising from the historic town fortifications, David Chipperfield Architects’ new Musée des Beaux-arts is situated on the periphery of a long green space in between the old and new parts of Reims, France."
UNESCO aprueba la creación de un estudio preliminar sobre protección del patrimonio museológico UNESCO, www.ibermuseus.org, junio 2012
WORLD – "La propuesta fue introducida por Brasil durante la 36ª reunión de UNESCO en París. El pasado 5 de noviembre la delegación del Instituto Brasileiro de Museus (IBRAM), encabezado por José do Nascimento Junior, presidente también del Programa Ibermuseos, presentó durante la Conferencia General de UNESCO un proyecto de resolución para la evaluación de las diversas modalidades posibles de protección y promoción del patrimonio museológico y colecciones, a nivel mundial."
Asia's wealthy fuel boom in museum construction Katie Hunt, BBC News, 28 May 2012
HING KONG – "Among the new shiny shopping malls and upscale residential high rises that are the most visible hallmarks of Asia's economic boom, museums are springing up. It's a phenomenon largely driven by a new generation of wealthy collectors keen to show off their riches and fill a gap in a region where the grand, publicly-funded museums common in Western capitals are few and far between. The trend is particularly visible in China, where a reported 395 museums opened last year as the government's drive to achieve world status embraces culture as well as economic might."
Architecture
Let Them Have Architecture! Dame Zaha Hadid Calls for Better Buildings During Periods of Austerity Kelly Chan, Artinfo, 29 June 2012
NEW YORK, NY – Zaha and austerity are two words that don't exactly go hand in hand. But the recently knighted Dame Zaha Hadid gave her two cents on recession-era construction when speaking with Guardian deputy editor Kath Viner, asserting with characteristic confidence that economic austerity "is used as a cliché because people don't have ideas; they want to crib [old ones] to do bad stuff." The famed Iraqi-British architect went on to criticize the British government in the 1960s for diminishing cityscapes with developments scraped together by an overriding imperative to "be cheap."
Norman Foster's Sperone Westwater Gallery, A Popular Critics' Punching Bag, Wins Belated RIBA Award Janelle Zara, ArtInfo, 27 June 2012
NEW YORK, NY – "Sperone Westwater is unlikely to win the award for gallery of the year. The Foster + Partners-designed Bowery artspace has weathered a barrage of attacks since its opening in September 2010 — both the critical kind (the New York Times declaring its debut Guillermo Kuitca exhibition "less-than-dazzling," "tiresome," and "dour," the building itself "more toolbox than jewel box... oddly cheap, low-tech and utilitarian") and the fecal kind (next-door neighbor Charles Saulson flinging human waste onto the gallery's balcony for its alleged 4.8-inch intrusion onto his property). Nearly two years and a couple dozen shows later, the gallery now has an accolade to contradict its naysayers: The Royal Institute of British Architects just awarded the building a RIBA International Award for excellence."
For Arts Institutions, Thinking Big Can Be Suicidal ROBIN POGREBIN, ArtsInfo, 27 June 2012
NEW YORK, NY – "Keeping up with the Joneses. It happens in many settings, from the classroom to the country club, and, perhaps not surprisingly, among cultural organizations, according to a new study that finds that many institutions recently expanded their buildings in part because everyone else had."
CEBRA win competition to design Science Centre from old water bottling plant World Architecture News.com, 26 june 2012
COPENHAGEN, Denmark – "Danish architects CEBRA have won first place in the design competition to renovate an old mineral water bottling plant into a Science Centre in Copenhagen. The original building will be redeveloped to serve as an interactive centre for science, technology and culture, housing their concept, Experimentarium, and is due for completion in 2015. "
New visitor centre draws the crowds to Cairns Botanic Gardens World Architecture News.com, 26 june 2012
AUSTRALIA – "Charles Wright Architects set-out to design a 'green' building which represents a paradigm shift for Cairns, moving away from the conventional building vernaculars toward new and progressive solutions that can be applied anywhere on a tropical latitude. There was a collective desire to attract both national and international attention."
Moscow’s monuments under threat The destruction of the Russian city’s architectural heritage has contributed to recent anti-government protests Sophia Kishkovsky, The Art Newspaper.com, 25 June 2012
MOSCOW, RUSSIA – "Preservationists are voicing growing concerns about Moscow’s architectural heritage and the state’s role in ensuring it survives. The controversial destruction of monuments has contributed to recent anti–-government protests in Russia, even though a number of preservationists believe that Moscow’s authorities are doing a better job of saving landmark buildings under Sergei Sobyanin, who was elected as the city’s mayor in 2010, than under his predecessor Yuri Luzhkov, who was notorious for allowing historical architecture to be demolished."
Organic forms inspire Fast + Epp's VanDusen Botanical Gardens Visitor Centre World Architecture News.com, 25 june 2012
VANCOUVER, BC – "Located in the heart of Vancouver, the VanDusen Botanical Gardens Visitor Centre is inspired by the organic forms of a native orchid. Requiring extensive collaboration between the architect and the structural engineer, the project's most innovative feature is the dramatic free-form roof structure. Appearing to float above the building's curved rammed earth walls, the roof form metaphorically represents undulating petals, flowing seamlessly into a central occulus and the surrounding landscape."
Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, best known for his innovative bridges, talks about his career highs and lows Edwin Heathcote, Design and Architecture, 22 June 2012
SPAIN – "When Santiago Calatrava first appeared on the scene in the 1980s, his work was a revelation. Here was an architect/engineer building infrastructure that seemed, to me as a British architecture student, almost impossibly exotic. Theatrical bridges, sinuous stations and organic concrete structures held echoes of Latin American modernism and perhaps even a hint of Gaudí, but seemed like something new, branching out of one of the forgotten tributaries of 20th-century architecture, the European expressionism that was quickly crushed by the mass-produced boxes of functionalism."
Norman Foster to Design Ballet School in Cuba Robin Pogrebin, The New York Times, 21 June 2012
HAVANA, CUBA – The British architect Norman Foster has been selected to design a new arts complex on the outskirts of Havana for the Cuban ballet star Carlos Acosta. The commission, reported by bdonline, will convert the abandoned School of Ballet, which was set up as one of four national arts schools by Fidel Castro but was never completed. Mr. Foster’s firm, Foster and Partners, plans to redevelop the original building, designed in 1961 by the Italian architect Vittorio Garatti, which has domed roofs. [See also World-famous ballet dancer Carlos Acosta returns to Cuba to back Foster-designed Cuba School of Dance in Havana, WAN.com, 20 June 2012]
Le Conseil de Paris favorable à l’extension souterraine de la Tour Eiffel Journal des Arts, 21 Juin 2012
PARIS, FRANCE – " Le Conseil de Paris, qui s’est réuni les 19 et 20 juin 2012, a approuvé le lancement d’un appel d’offres pour réaliser les études techniques et financières préalables à l’aménagement du sous-sol de la Tour Eiffel. " [See also Projet d’extension souterrain de la Tour Eiffel, Connaissance des Arts, 15 Juin 2012]
Cultural MECA proposed in Bordeaux Designs released for Maison de l'Economie Creative et de la Culture en Aquitaine World Architecture News.com, 20 June 2012
BORDEAUX, FRANCE – "A team comprised of BIG+FREAKS freearchitects, dUCKS scéno, Khephren Ingénierie, VPEAS, ALTO Ingénierie, Vincent Hedont, PBNL, Mryk & Moriceau and Ph.A have won the competition to design a new 12,000 sq m cultural centre on the riverfront of Bordeaux, merging three cultural institutions into one single building."
UK architects complete breathtaking Gardens by the Bay project in Singapore World Architecture News.com, 20 June 2012
SINGAPORE – "The world has been waiting with baited breath for the completion of the Gardens by the Bay scheme in Singapore and the day is nearly upon us. Conceptualised by a British design team including Grant Associates, Wilkinson Eyre, Atelier Ten, Atelier One, Land Design Studio and Thomas Matthews, the first phase of this mammoth landscape and leisure scheme has now been realised, transforming 54 hectares of reclaimed land into an educational entertainment experience. "
Le futur quartier Clichy Batignolles connait ses architectes Journal des Arts, 19 Juin 2012
PARIS, FRANCE – " La Ville de Paris a révélé les onze agences d’architecture, françaises et internationales, sélectionnées pour concevoir le futur quartier de la ZAC Clichy Batignolles. "
Jayne Merkel, Architectural Record, June 19, 2012
VENICE, ITALY –""The emphasis of the 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale will be on what we have in common," explained British architect David Chipperfield, who is directing the main exhibition at this year’s Biennale, via satellite television to a group of press assembled in New York last month. "The ambition is to reassert the existence of an architectural culture made up not just of singular talents, but a rich continuity of diverse ideas united in a common history," he said."
Queen Elizabeth II's Birthday Honours List names architect Zaha Hadid as a dame World Architecture News.com, 18 June 2012
LONDON, UK – "On Saturday 16 June, Queen Elizabeth II’s Birthday Honours List 2012 was published, announcing that Zaha Hadid has become a Dame. Arguably the most famous and celebrated contemporary female architect in the world, Hadid is to be awarded the title Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her services to architecture."
Gagosian ouvre un espace au Bourget Libération Next, 13 Juin 2012
LE BOURGET, FRANCE – "Le marchand d’art américain Larry Gagosian ouvrira à l’automne 2012 un nouvel espace au Bourget conçu par Jean Nouvel (né en 1945 à Fumel)."
Richard Armstrong Goes Global: My Interview with the Guggenheim’s New Director CultureGrrl, Lee Rosenbaum's cultural commentary in ArtsJournal, 13 June 2012
ABU DHABI, UAE – "I've had occasion in the last few weeks to interview a few recently anointed museum directors, and I've been struck by the differences in how they approach their new assignments. In future posts, I'll be discussing someone who hit the ground running as soon as he walked in the door, and someone else who is brimming with new ideas, even before setting foot in his new office."
Kelly Chan, ArtInfo, 11 June 2012M
LONDON, UK – "The ArcelorMittal Orbit has been called many things by many people. The Olympic Park showpiece once described as "a kind of 21st century Trajan's Column" by London mayor Boris Johnson has been likened to the towers of Babel, Eiffel, and Tatlin by its co-creators Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond. As for the building's critics, one scarcely knows where to begin: Architect Magazine contributor and critic Kieran Long denounced the "overgrown maypole," while locals lambasted the "contorted mass of entrails." As polarizing as the Orbit's torqued red steel may be, to a population of Bosnian Muslims, its aggressive aesthetics are just the dreadfully overdone icing on the cake. For them, the grotesque sculpture is a monumental reminder of an unfulfilled promise by steel giant ArcelorMittal, the Orbit's primary sponsor, to memorialize a concentration camp where more than 5,000 Bosnians were detained and tortured during the 1992 Prijedor massacre."
Technology
Cultural Preservation: Future Concerns, Trends, and Hypotheses Blog by Naina Singh, Technology in the Arts, 28 June 2012
PITTSBURGH, PA – "The numerous civilizations of the past left behind numerous tangible traces of their heritage. Coveted or discarded, scattered or buried, broken or intact, these objects would soon become artefacts. Archeologist would study them, museums would acquire them, and the rest is none other than History. But what happens when the core activities of a civilization leave scarce amounts of tangibles? What happens when the pace of change is faster than that of preservation? We should start formulating a response, for this describes none other than the 21st century."
Tablet PCs preserve indigenous knowledge Tablet computers could help villagers in the Kalahari desert preserve cultural knowledge and traditional techniques for future generations Niall Firth, New Scientist, 18 June 2012
AFRICA – "The Herero people know just what to do when a horse is too wild or unpredictable: they lash a donkey to it, which forces the horse to slow down and helps to tame it. Unruly animals have been dealt with this way for generations by the inhabitants of the small village of Erindiroukambe, which lies in the heart of the Kalahari desert in eastern Namibia. But times are changing and, as young men leave to work or study in cities like Windhoek, 400 kilometres away, it becomes much harder to hang on to this kind of local knowledge. Kasper Rodil, at Aalborg University in Denmark, and his colleagues want to see if tablet computers can help bridge the gap. "The human race would lose some colour if we lost this kind of knowledge," says Rodil."
Versailles et Google reconstituent l’histoire du château Journal des Arts, 18 Juin 2012
VERSAILLES, FRANCE – "Depuis le 14 juin 2012, ce sont onze nouvelles salles qui s’offrent aux visiteurs du Château de Versailles. La Galerie de l’histoire, située en amont du circuit très visité des Grands appartements, propose des œuvres originales, des maquettes ainsi que des dispositifs multimédias, réalisés en partenariat avec Google, évoquant les grandes étapes de la création et de la transformation de la demeure royale."
An interivew with Laura Quinn of Idealware: Helping Nonprofits Make “Smart Software Decisions” Elizabeth Quaglieri, Technology In the Arts, June 12, 2012
PORTLAND, MAINE – "Idealware is a nonprofit organization based in Portland, Maine. It helps other nonprofits make “smart software decisions” by offering recommendations on software products and vendors, and more importantly, on which of those products and vendors would best fit the organization’s specific needs. Idealware’s reports are plenty, thoroughly researched, relevant and up-to-date. [...]
Getty launches full text website for art history research Jori Finkel, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2012
LOS ANGELES, CA – "When UC Santa Barbara professor Ann Jensen Adams, known for her work on 17th century Dutch painting, was given the chance to try a new research website from the Getty last week, she first typed in the name of a major artist and author in the search field: Karel van Mander. She was surprised to find online a full-text version of Van Mander's 1604 masterpiece, "Het Schilder-Boeck" (Book of Painters), which attempted to introduce Dutch and German painters like Vasari's classic "Lives of the Artists" did for so many Italians." [See also Getty Unleashes "Google Books for Art," an Art Star Arena Battle in Arles, and More Must-Read Art News; ArtInfo, 1 June 2012 and L’Institut Getty lance un portail de recherche consacré à l’histoire de l’art, Journal des Arts, 6 Juin 2012]
Art and Culture
Pottery invented in China to cook food and brew alcohol Pallab Ghosh, BBC News, 28 June 2012
CHINA – "The US archaeologists involved have determined that fragments from a large bowl found in Xianrendong Cave, Jiangxi Province, are 20,000 years old. The discovery, published in the journal Science, is the latest in recent years that have pushed back the invention of pottery by 10,000 years."
Tolstoy’s great–great–grandson appointed cultural adviser to Putin Vladimir Tolstoy has been the director of Yasnaya Polyana, the writer’s estate and museum Sophia Kishkovsky, The Art Newspaper, 28 June 2012
MOSCOW, RUSSIA – "Vladimir Tolstoy, the great-great-grandson of Leo Tolstoy, has been appointed a cultural adviser to the Russian President Vladimir Putin. The appointment was made in May, shortly after Putin returned to the Kremlin as president after serving as the prime minister for four years. Since 1994, Vladimir Tolstoy has been the director of Yasnaya Polyana, the writer's estate and museum. Situated near the city of Tula, south of Moscow, the writer's house and grounds were turned into a museum in 1921. Leo Tolstoy's daughter, Alexandra, was the first director of the museum, where the writer is buried. The house and grounds are famous for preserving the atmosphere of pre–revolutionary Russian country life."
259.000 spectateurs pour «Monumenta» de Daniel Buren Libération, 27 Juin 2012
PARIS, FRANCE – " La cinquième édition de Monumenta confiée à l’artiste français Daniel Buren a accueilli 259.041 visiteurs dans la nef du Grand Palais à Paris, a annoncé mardi le ministère de la Culture. "
Subway work unearths 2,000–year–old road in Greece Associated Press, Fox News, 26 June 2012
THESSALONIKI, GREECE – "Archaeologists in Greece's second-largest city have uncovered a 70-meter (230-foot) section of an ancient road built by the Romans that was the city's main travel artery nearly 2,000 years ago. The marble-paved road was unearthed during excavations for Thessaloniki's new subway system, which is due to be completed in four years. The road in the northern port city will be raised to be put on permanent display when the metro opens in 2016."
The 30–and–Under Crowd: The Art World's Most Influential Young Figures ArtInfo, 26 June 2012
NEW YORK, NY – "Summer in the art world is a relaxed affair — galleries close early, publications slow down, and tourist-filled museums tend to scare away the professionals. A lively annual tradition, however, is summer group show, which is often an opportunity for younger artists to get exposure and younger curators to get practice. Though the art industry is known to reward the experience that comes with age, summer is an opportunity for young upstarts to experiment, and perhaps make a lasting impression."
Government Expenditures on Culture, 2009–10 Arts Research Monitor, 25 June 2012
CANADA – "Statistics Canada recently released a brief overview and data tables regarding government spending on culture in 2009-10. The data include direct government support for culture through operating expenditures, capital expenditures and grants. Excluded are indirect support instruments, such as tax credits. Hill Strategies has analyzed this data for this issue of the Arts Research Monitor. It should be noted that Statistics Canada has recently cancelled this survey for budgetary reasons. Therefore, data will not be available for subsequent years."
Famous Artists' Early Exhibition Reviews The critics who weighed in on legends in the making The Atlantic, 24 June 2012
WASHINGTON, DC – "Picasso visited Paris for the first time in 1900. The city had such a profound effect on him, he returned the following year with 100 paintings in hand, hoping to land a show. The 19-year-old painter was introduced to Ambroise Vollard—the same dealer who sponsored the works of Cezanne and other notable artists—who immediately secured a spot for him at a gallery on the prestigious Rue Laffitte. Picasso was unknown at the time, but the 75 paintings that ranged from moody portraits to representational works featuring landscapes, prostitutes, and society ladies, proved he was extremely talented and driven."
L’art tunisien, sacre et massacre Libération, 21 Juin 2012
TUNIS, TUNISIE – " Un mort, des centaines de blessés, des bâtiments saccagés... Quelques jours après les violences qui ont secoué la Tunisie, les artistes restent sidérés : comment une exposition d’art contemporain a-t-elle pu déchaîner une telle colère ? "
Fair or foul: more art fairs and bigger brand galleries, but is the model sustainable? Many galleries acknowledge that supply is a problem, with artists under pressure to produce more work Georgina Adam, The Art Newspaper, 20 June 2012
NEW YORK, NY – "Dealers are increasingly calling it “the fair marathon”: a six-week epic that started with Frieze New York (4-7 May), continued two weeks later in Hong Kong with ArtHK (17-20 May) and will reach its apogee with Art Basel, the one fair the art world really, really can’t miss (14-17 June). Some brave souls, including Tim Marlow, the director of exhibitions at White Cube gallery, even slotted São Paulo’s Sp-Arte (9-13 May) between New York and Hong Kong, withstanding a two-night journey by air from Brazil to Asia."
Christie's London Tallies Robust $145-Million Imp/Mod Sale Fueled by Degas, Picasso, and Magritte Judd Tully, ArtInfo, 20 June 2012
LONDON, UK – "Packed with more desirable works than its arch rival Sotheby’s, Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art evening sale delivered a solid and reassuring £92,583,550 ($145,541,341) tally with 56 of the 70 lots offered finding buyers. The total came within striking distance of the £100-million high estimate and the buy-in rate was a decent 20 percent by lot and 16 percent by value. Two artist records were set, four lots made over five million pounds, 27 works hurdled the one million pound mark, and 36 exceeded one million dollars. That compares to Christie’s June 2011 evening sale that made £140,019,200 ($219,816,142)."
Venezuela demands the return of its 'grandmother', a sandstone boulder A German artist transported the 35-tonne stone to Berlin as part of a sculpture project, and dismisses claims that it is holy Kate Connolly in Berlin and Virginia Lopez in Caracas, The Guardian, 18 June 2012
CARACAS, VENEZUELA – "The Venezuelan government is demanding the return from Germany of a red sandstone rock that is the central attraction of a Berlin sculpture park, claiming it has sacred properties and was stolen from a group of indigenous people. The 35-tonne boulder was procured from the Canaima National Park in south-eastern Venezuela by the German artist Wolfgang von Schwarzenfeld in 1997, who said it was officially gifted to him by the head of the park – claims that he backed up with extensive paperwork – and that the local Pemón Indians did not object to its removal." [See also Venezuela and Germany Are at Odds Over an Artist's Use of a Sacred Sandstone Boulder, Juliette Soulez, ArtInfo, 27 June 2012]
Bloomberg Competition Aims to Improve Civic Life Fred A. Bernstein, Architectural Record, 18 June 2012
NEW YORK, NY – "Michael Bloomberg, New York’s rich and resourceful mayor, has unveiled a competition that may give architects a chance to share their best ideas—and make money. Last week, the mayor announced a contest meant to improve civic life in the United States through ideas that "address serious social or economic problems" or "create efficiencies that make government work better, faster, and cheaper." Judges will select winners later this year. The contest is open to U.S. cities with populations of 30,000 or more. Cities have to register for the Mayors Challenge by July 16 (at mayorschallenge.bloomberg.org) and complete their entries by September 14. Even by Bloombergian standards, the possible rewards are staggering: a $5 million first prize, and four $1 million second prizes."
Rock of ages: Australia's oldest artwork found Archaeologist discovers Aboriginal rock art made 28,000 years ago in Northern Territory cave Associated Press, guardian.co.uk, 18 June 2012
AUSTRALIA – "An archaeologist says he has found the oldest piece of rock art in Australia and one of the oldest in the world: an Aboriginal work created 28,000 years ago in an outback cave. The dating of one of the thousands of images in the Northern Territory rock shelter, known as Nawarla Gabarnmang, will be published in the next edition of the Journal of Archaeological Science. The archaeologist Bryce Barker, from the University of Southern Queensland, said he found the rock in June last year but had only recently had it dated at the radiocarbon laboratory of New Zealand's University of Waikato."
Fair Use, Art, Swiss Cheese and Me Michael Rips, The New York Times, 16 June 2012
NEW YORK – "NONE of the thoughts that occurred to me on that tranquil afternoon when a slice of Swiss cheese was deposited on my face were so exotic as to include the notion that, 15 years later, I would listen to judges debate whether I should be allowed to remove the cheese and set it on fire. And yet, such exotic questions are now before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, where a three–judge panel will rule on a case with serious implications for the visual arts."
Australian Governemnt, www.environment.gov.au, 15 June 2012
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA – "In 2010 the Australian Government decided to develop the Australian Heritage Strategy. The aim of the Strategy will be to highlight the importance of heritage to all Australians and provide a common direction for the recognition, protection, commemoration and celebration of heritage across Australia over the next decade. The Strategy will seek to coordinate the significant efforts of government and the private sector in order to build upon achievements over the past few decades.The Strategy is being prepared in consultation with all state and territory governments, and key stakeholder groups and has the support of the Australian Heritage Council, the Heritage Chairs and Officials of Australia and New Zealand and the Australian Council of National Trusts." [See also Significance International, www.significanceinternational.com]
Bercy pourrait remettre en cause le mécénat d’entreprise Connaissance des Arts, 15 Juin 2012
FRANCE – "Le ministre du budget, Jérôme Cahuzac, projette de remettre en cause l’avantage fiscal lié au mécénat d’entreprise."
hoyesarte.com, 14 junio 2012
SPAIN – "Científicos de diferentes instituciones de investigación españolas e inglesas publican hoy un artículo en la revista Science con dataciones absolutas para el arte parietal de las cuevas de Altamira, El Castillo y Tito Bustillo. Los resultados obtenidos constituyen las fechas más antiguas obtenidas en Europa para el arte paleolítico. Los conjuntos de arte paleolítico, existentes principalmente en cuevas de España y Francia, constituyen la primera expresión artística de la Humanidad, generalmente atribuida a las primeras poblaciones de Homo sapiens que llegaron a Europa."
Oldest cave–man art in Europe dates back 40,800 years Neanderthals may have painted works in Spain, scientists say Matt Kwong, CBC News, 14 June 2012
SPAIN – "A team of scientists studying cave paintings in Northern Spain has verified they are the oldest known works of Stone Age art in Europe, finished some 10,000 years earlier than the prehistoric wall paintings found in France. Alistair Pike, an archaeologist with the University of Bristol and lead author of the study, said the 50 paintings observed in 11 caves in Spain included wall art from the UNESCO World Heritage sites Altamira, El Castillo and Tito Bustillo. Through a process called uranium series dating, Pike explained, the researchers were able to calculate that the paintings date back to at least 40,800 years ago." [See also Were Neanderthals Europe's First Cave Artists?,Stephanie Pappas, Discovery News, 14 June 2012]
Alexander Forbes, ArtInfo, 14 June 2012
KIEV, UKRAINE – "As the Euro Cup kicked off in the Ukraine on Friday, things went south for the country’s cultural freedom, as one of the current Kiev Biennale’s collateral event’s “Apocalypse and Renaissance at the Chocolate House” was torn down at the behest of the government. Though the order to close the exhibition came officially from senior staff of the Chocolate House, which belongs to the Kiev National Museum of Russian Art, word later circulated that they had been ordered by the Ukrainian Natoinal Expert Committee for the Protection of Social Morality that the museum must close its doors."
Egyptian Artists Band Together to Demand a Voice in the Formation of the Country's New Constitution Reid Singer, ArtInfo, 11 June 2012
EGYPT – "A loose coalition calling themselves the Front for Creativity has denounced the criteria established last week for the formation of Egypt's new Constituent Assembly as insufficiently representing the country's cultural and intellectual interests. At a meeting on Saturday at the Trade Unions Club, Front members lamented the near-monopoly held by the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafist Nour Party on the assembly that would produce Egypt's new constitution, arguing that the writers and artists who contributed to the protest movement in Tahrir Square that led to the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak's government deserved a seat at the policy table. "Today," reads a statement released to the literary organization PEN International, "writers, literary figures, poets and artists of this nation were at the forefront of the Egyptian society that addressed the system of tyranny, and corruption of the former regime." "
Latest discoveries in China include never-before-seen artefacts, including war drums and a painted shield More than 310 pieces newly excavated in total Lawrence Conway, Mail Online, 11 June 2012
CHINA – "Excavations in China have unearthed a stunning new collection of 2,000-year-old terracotta warriors and hundreds of other artefacts. Archaeologists unveiled 120 new terracotta warriors yesterday at the Qin Shihuang Unesco World Heritage site in Shaanxi province. The current excavation, which started in 2009, is the third at the site following two previous digs which were carried out in 1974 and 1985.
Le bassin minier du Nord-Pas-de-Calais divise les experts de l’UNESCO Journal des Arts, 11 Juin 2012
PARIS, FRANCE – "L’ICOMOS et l’UICN, les deux organes consultatifs pour l’UNESCO, ont rendu leurs rapports au sujet du classement du bassin minier du Nord-Pas-de-Calais sur la liste du patrimoine mondial de l’humanité au titre de « paysage culture évolutif ». Si l’ICOMOS y est favorable, l’UICN émet un avis plus critique."
The revolutionary potential of the Queen’s English It isn’t only old farts who should stand up for standard English. So should those of us who want to understand the world, and change it. Brendan O’Neill, spiked–online.com, 7 June 2012
LONDON, UK – "Why has there been so much glee over the demise of the Queen’s English Society? No sooner had these posh warriors against txtspeak and for standard English announced that they were calling it a day than the press was effectively saying: ‘About time, too.’ There were the inevitable slangish headlines. ‘OMG! Queen’s English Society announces that it is to close cos no one cares about speaking proper no longer’, said the Daily Mail. And then there were the follow–up comment pieces, informing us that no one speaks the Queen’s English anymore (not even the Queen) and that we should stop the ‘cultural policing’ of the English language." [See also Queen's English Society says enuf is enough, innit? Society formed 40 years ago to protect language against poor spelling and grammar closes because too few people care, The Guardian, 4 June 2012]
Priceless heritage at risk from extremists Rebel group in control of Timbuktu desecrates venerated tomb and seeks to obliterate thousands of ancient manuscripts Emily Sharpe, The Art Newspaper, 6 June 2012
MALI – "Concern for the cultural heritage of Mali is growing after militant Islamic fundamentalists desecrated a 15th-century tomb of a Muslim saint in Timbuktu in May, and threatened to destroy other tombs as well as anything else they perceive as being idolatrous or contrary to their version of Islam. The northern Malian city, a Unesco World Heritage Site, is home to several other such tombs and three historic mosques as well as many small museums. Timbuktu also has between 600,000 and one million ancient manuscripts housed in public and private collections that are vulnerable to acts of destruction from the occupying rebel forces as well as from those looking to profit from the political unrest."
Future tense, XI: The lessons of culture On culture's role in the economy of life and the fragility of civilization. Roger Kimball, The New Criterion, 3 June 2012
NEW YORK, NY – "... The lessons of culture: What are they? One of the leitmotifs threading its way through the essays that compose “Future Tense” is the recognition that we are living in the midst of one of those “plastic moments” that Karl Marx talked about. Future tense: not just subsequent, but also fraught. To revise an old song: Will there always be an England? That “will there always be . . .” is everywhere on our lips, in our hearts. And it’s not just England we worry about. The law; the economy; the political prospects; changes in our intellectual habits wrought by changes in our technology; the destiny that is demography: America, the West, indeed the entire world in the early years of the twenty-first century, seems curiously unsettled. Things we had taken for granted seem suddenly up for grabs in some fundamental if still-difficult-to-grasp way. Fissures open among the confidences we had always assumed-in “the market,” in national identity, in the basics of social order and cultural value. Future tense: the always hazardous art of cultural prognostication seems brittler now, more uneasy, more tentative."
Cambodia Says It Seeks Return Of Met Statues TOM MASHBERG and RALPH BLUMENTHAL, The New York Times, 1 June 2012
CAMBODIA – "The Cambodian government is convinced that two life-size 10th-century statues that have anchored the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Southeast Asian galleries for nearly two decades were looted from a jungle temple and plans to ask for their return. "The government is very serious about moving this forward, and we are getting much legal advice," said Im Sokrithy, a director of Apsara, the Cambodian agency that oversees heritage and land management at the sprawling temple complex where, archaeologists say, the statues stood for centuries. "We are taking a forceful position, and we hope they can be returned." "
Creative Cities, Economies, Innovation, Urban Planning, Cultural Planning
Stonehenge was built to unify Britain, researchers conclude Building Stonehenge was a way to unify the people of Stone Age Britain, researchers have concluded. BBC News, 22 June 2012
WILTSHIRE, UK – "Teams working on the Stonehenge Riverside Project believe the circle was built after a long period of conflict between east and west Britain. Researchers also believe the stones, from southern England and west Wales, symbolize different communities. Prof Mike Parker Pearson said building Stonehenge required everyone "to pull together" in "an act of unification"."
Forget stadiums: Let's build a pop-up park. Smart cities know the future is cooler, cheaper –– and smaller Will Doig, Salon, 16 June 2012
CHICAGO, IL – "Last week, a press release from Chicago’s Office of the Mayor proclaimed something that would have sounded like a Yes Men prank just a few years ago: Rahm Emanuel, it said, has a plan to get rid of the city’s "excess asphalt." It wasn’t a proposal for a big new park or recreational facility, but a plan to take little bits of public space here and there — streets, parking spots, alleyways — and turn them into places for people. It was the latest example of a municipal government taking an active role in tactical urbanism, that low-cost, low-commitment, incremental approach to city building — the "let’s not build a stadium" strategy."
Australia creates world's largest marine reserve network, limits fishing, oil, gas exploration Rod McGuirk, Global News, 14 June 2012
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA – "Australia has created the world's largest network of marine reserves and will restrict fishing as well as oil and gas exploration in a major step to safeguard the environment and access to food. With the expansion announced Thursday [14 June 2012], Australia will protect 3.1 million square kilometres (1.2 million square miles) of ocean. The reserves will encompass a third of the island continent's territorial waters, which sustain more than 4,000 species of fish."
La Chine invente la contrefaçon de petit village autrichien La commune autrichienne de Hallstatt a entièrement été reproduit dans la province de Guangdong Libération Next, 12 Juin 2012
CHINE – "Les sacs à main, les chaussures, les parfums et les fournitures informatiques étaient peut–être devenus trop faciles à reproduire, la contrefaçon chinoise est donc passée à un autre niveau: copier un village entier. La reproduction de la commune d'Hallstatt (800 habitants) en Autriche a ainsi été inaugurée le 2 juin dans la province de Guangdong, dans le sud-ouest de la Chine. Le site ambitionne de devenir une destination touristique majeure dans le pays." [See also China Unveils A Knockoff Version Of An Entire Austrian Village, Business Insider, 4 June 2012]
Learning From Lagos: Contemporary Architects Harvest the Slums for Design Inspiration Kelly Chan, ArtInfo, 7 June 2012
DENMARK – "A few days ago, architecture and design magazine eVolo published a conceptual proposal called "Favela Cloud," a formal scheme to redevelop the Brazilian slums of Santa Marta. Renderings for the master thesis project by Aalborg University graduate students Johan Kure, Thiru Manickam, and Kemo Usto depict a massive, porous steel "cloud" made from interconnected polyhedral modules. The amorphous form is raised upon a forest of intersecting poles and made accessible by lift or by whimsically off-kilter spiral staircases. Perched high above the cinderblock shanties of Santa Marta and basking in the midday sun, "Favela Cloud" is meant to proclaim the dawn of a new age, one in which the long-neglected urban poor are both entitled to and empowered by progressive architecture."
|
|||||
|
|
Creating Cultural Capital |
||||
|
|
|||||
