| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net | | Established in 1996 | Friday, May 8, 2020 |
| | | New technologies virtually reconstruct the pre-hispanic city of Tingambato | |
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New technologies reconstruct the pre-Hispanic city of Tingambato virtually, in todays Michoacan. Photo: Archaeologist José Luis Punzo. INAH.
Translated by Liz Marie Gangemi
MEXICO CITY.- In the 70s, two archaeologists, Román Piña Chan from Mexico and Kuniaki Ohi from Japan, undertook an extensive exploration project in Tingambato, Michoacan, finding, among other structures, a game involving a ball and a mass burial grave, which is still under investigation by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). From that project anecdotes remain of how Piña Chan used his privileged sense of smell to know where to dig, or about the karate lessons that Kuniaki gave in his spare time to the children of Tingambato, in exchange that they read at least one book a month. This is what archaeologist José Luis Punzo DÃaz, of the Michoacan INAH Center, announced in a video conference that he participated in on April 30th in the series "Archaeology Today", coordinated by archaeologist Leonardo López Luján at El Colegio ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day The Christ the Redeemer statue is seen illuminated wearing a face mask and reading "Mask saves" calling society to wear them to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on May 03, 2020. MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP
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| | Phillips unveils two rare masterpieces by Zao Wou-Ki from the artist's Hurricane Period | | Banksy tribute to UK health service displayed in hospital | | Greece to reopen museums mid-June: minister |
Zao Wou-Ki (1920-2013), 22.6.63, Painted in 1963 (detail) Oil on canvas, 146 x 89 cm. Estimate: HK$ 38,000,000 - 58,000,000. Image courtesy of Phillips.
HONG KONG.- Phillips unveiled two masterworks by Zao Wou-Ki, 22.6.63 and 24.10.63, as leading highlights of the 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale in Hong Kong on 8 July, 2020. Coming to the auction market for the very first time, these exceptionally important works are prime examples completed at the peak of the Zao Wou-Kis Hurricane Period (1959-1972), a period which is considered the height of his extraordinary artistic career. Isaure de Viel Castel, Head of 20th Century & Contemporary Art, Hong Kong, said, Phillips is proud to be entrusted with the sale of these two masterworks by Zao Wou-Ki, in our upcoming 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale in Hong Kong this July, as we celebrate Phillips fifth year anniversary in Asia. These magnificent paintings were initially presented by New Yorks renowned Kootz Gallery, and it is rare to see two such works ... More | |
The street artist also posted an image of the work on Instagram, which shows a boy in dungarees playing with a figurine of a nurse in a superhero cape.
LONDON (AFP).- A new artwork by Banksy in honour of Britain's health service has gone on display in a hospital, paying tribute to medics battling the coronavirus pandemic in the second hardest-hit country. The street artist also posted an image of the work on Instagram, which shows a boy in dungarees playing with a figurine of a nurse in a superhero cape. The sole splash of colour in the artwork -- entitled 'Game Changer' -- is the red cross on the nurse's uniform, while discarded Superman and Batman figures lie in a basket next to the boy. "Thanks for all you're doing. I hope this brightens the place up a bit, even if it's only black and white," the enigmatic artist said in a note for hospital workers. Hung on a corridor wall at a hospital in Southampton in southern England, the one-square-metre (10-square-foot) tableau will be put on public display when lockdown measures are lifted, a spokeswoman for Banksy said. It will later be ... More | |
A tourist takes a selfie in front of the Acropolis archaeological site on March 13, 2020. LOUISA GOULIAMAKI / AFP.
ATHENS (AFP).- Museums shuttered by the coronavirus crisis in Greece will reopen on June 15, the culture minister said Thursday amid steps by the government to salvage the vital tourism season. Athens expects the economy to contract at least 4.7 percent this year, partly due to the loss of tourism income from key markets such as Germany, Britain and the United States. With 147 deaths from the virus, Greece this week gradually began reopening after a six-week lockdown. "Our aim is to keep culture active... we don't want a scene without culture because of the pandemic," Culture Minister Lina Mendoni told a news teleconference. "If things go smoothly, some of these initiatives could begin sooner," she said. The reopening of open-air archaeological sites on May 18, with restaurants to follow on June 1, has already been announced. This includes the Acropolis, Greece's most visited site, ... More |
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| | Mike Cloud: Painting outside the safe space | | Christie's Andy Warhol: Better Days totals $272,125 | | Natural History Museum slashing staff with layoffs and furloughs |
The artist Mike Cloud at his home in Chicago, April 30, 2020. Daniel Dorsa/The New York Times.
by Will Heinrich
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- As the lockdown stretches into another month, weve checked in on artists to ask how quarantining is affecting their studio practice. For some, the present emergency has spurred unlikely new ways of working. For others, its grinding work to a halt, whether for logistical reasons or just for emotional ones. Mike Cloud, an abstract painter with a Yale MFA who teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, falls somewhere in the middle. Cloud is known for applying bold colors to unusually shaped canvases, as well as for discreetly provocative gestures, like his Hanging paintings, a series of triangular constructions draped with small nooses. He spoke to me by FaceTime from the Chicago home he shares with his wife, the artist Nyeema Morgan, and their two children. These are edited excerpts from our conversation. Q: What ... More | |
Andy Warhol, Andy Warhol and Henry Geldzahler, unique polaroid print mounted on board, Executed circa 1979. © Christie's Images Ltd 2020.
NEW YORK, NY.- Christies Andy Warhol: Better Days sale (April 28 May 6), totaled $272,125, with 88% sold by lot and 142% sold by value. Proceeds from the online-only sale, held in collaboration with the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts will support the Foundations efforts to provide emergency relief to artists throughout the US. The top lots were Andy Warhols Self-Portrait which sold for $37,500; Flowers, which realized $16,250, against a low estimate of $3,000; and Andy Warhol and Henry Geldzahler, which realized $15,000. Other notable results included Montauk Beach, which achieved $10,000, against a low estimate of $2,500; and Archie, which sold for $9,375, against a low estimate of $2,500. Michael Dayton Hermann, Director of Licensing, Marketing and Sales, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts: "We are grateful for this opportunity to work with Christies and to present works ... More | |
The American Museum of Natural History in New York, July 27, 2019. Jeenah Moon/The New York Times.
by Julia Jacobs
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Facing severe financial losses as a result of the pandemic, the American Museum of Natural History announced Wednesday that it would cut its full-time staff by about 200 people, amounting to dozens of layoffs, and put about 250 other full-time employees on indefinite furlough. The staff of roughly 1,100 employees will be reduced by about 20%, according to a statement from the museum. That figure includes 68 layoffs, 70 voluntary retirements and other workers whose contracts are expiring. The museum projects a budget deficit of between $80 million and $120 million for the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends June 30, and the next fiscal year. These actions are gut-wrenching, Ellen V. Futter, the museums president, said in a statement, but we are compelled to make them to protect the museum and its mission of research, science ... More |
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| | Christie's and China Guardian to jointly present first collaboration this September | | Macron pledges to help France's paralysed arts sector | | Stamps mark centennial of influential Canadian art school |
Shanghai Office Opening- Qin Feng. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2014.
SHANGHAI.- Christies and China Guardian Auctions announced they will jointly present a thematic collaboration in Shanghai this September. As respective leaders in their field, the two auction houses will work together as part of a wider innovative collaboration, including a series of sales and exhibitions under the organizing idea - 2020+. The goal of the partnership is to broaden the market in the region, attracting more clients and art lovers with an exciting series of shared events. Guillaume Cerutti, Chief Executive Officer, Christies commented, I am very proud of this first collaboration between Guardian and Christies. We have great respect for Guardians founder and chairman, Chen Dongsheng, and Guardians teams. Our two houses are on the same wavelength to leverage our collective expertise and reach, and to offer to collectors the ... More | |
French President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he takes part in a videoconference with artists from different fields at the Elysee Palace in Paris on May 6, 2020 before announcing the first orientations of a "culture plan" as France is under a strict lockdown to stop the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus. Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP.
PARIS (AFP).- France will begin opening some art galleries and museums next week, President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday as he pledged to support the country's cultural sector which has been devastated by the coronavirus lockdown. The French leader, who talked to a dozen artists, writers and film directors by video link, pledged to extend aid for out-of-work actors and performers until next year, and to set up a fund to help the paralysed film industry. Although there was no question of cinemas, theatres or concert halls reopening when France starts a gradual loosening of restrictions after nearly two months of confinement ... More | |
J.E.H. MacDonald commemorative stamp.
OTTAWA (AFP).- A new stamp collection will honor Canada's best known school of artists, reproducing a group of landscapes first shown 100 years ago. Among the paintings chosen for the collection are depictions of a fire-swept forest, a gritty mining town and a storm over the Great Lakes. They were shown together for the first time on May 7, 1920 at what is now the Art Gallery of Ontario. Canada Post said the show gave art lovers "their first look at paintings from what would become Canada's best-known school of art -- the Group of Seven." Inspired by Tom Thomson, an artist who drowned three years earlier, the group was founded by Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald and F.H. Varley. Their "raw and daring depictions of the landscape gave birth to a unique Canadian aesthetic that influenced generations of artists," the postal service said. Some 2,000 people attended ... More |
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| | Rodney Graham unveils a new series of paintings in Lisson Gallery online-only exhibition | | Brooklyn Bridge, star of the city: Here's a tour | | Small clubs are where rock history is made. How many will survive? |
Rodney Graham, Untitled, 2020. Oil and sand on canvas, walnut frame, 200.3 x 155.1 x 5.2 cm. 78 3/4 x 61 x 2 in © Rodney Graham; Courtesy Lisson Gallery.
NEW YORK, NY.- Lisson Gallery is presenting Painting Problems, an exhibition by Rodney Graham, unveiling a new series of paintings made especially for the occasion. This marks the first presentation on Lisson Gallerys new Online Exhibitions platform, a selection of which will be featured simultaneously across Frieze Art Fairs new Viewing Room. In this new series of works, Graham continues to play as a modernist painter. Drawing on the vocabulary of 20th century art, he splices together different styles, from Braque and Picasso, to Rodchenko and Fontana. The works on view evolved out of the paintings created by Graham for his lightbox, Vacuuming the Gallery, 1949 (2018). Each of Graham's lightboxes involve a meticulously curated stage-set, with every prop, costume or backdrop carefully designed and produced. This four-panelled work, exhibited at Lisson Gallery during Frieze London 2018, depicts a pipe-smoking mid-century art dealer ... More | |
The Brooklyn Bridge in New York, April 28, 2020. A New York Times critic explored the Brooklyn Bridge and the neighborhoods on either side with the architects Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi. Zack DeZon/The New York Times.
by Michael Kimmelman
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- When they were home in Brooklyn Heights, Emily Roebling and her husband, Washington Roebling, could look toward the East River and see how work was progressing on the Brooklyn Bridge. Washington Roebling was in charge of construction. He took over after his father, the bridges genius engineer, John Augustus Roebling, died in 1869. Then Washington Roebling suffered the bends working in the pneumatic caissons he had designed for the underwater foundations of the towers, and his wife saw the project through to completion. When the bridge opened in 1883, she was the first to cross it in a carriage. Architects Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi have lived since the early 1990s around the corner from where the Roeblings did. They like ... More | |
Shuttered businesses, including the Subterranean club, in Chicago, May 1, 2020. With concerts on hold during the pandemic, independent venues are struggling to hang on and fighting for government aid. Lyndon French/The New York Times.
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- In March, as the coronavirus pandemic brought the concert world to a halt, Robert Gomez shut down his two clubs in Chicago, Subterranean and Beat Kitchen, without knowing when they would reopen. Speaking in the steady, gravelly tone of a hardened nightlife proprietor, he described divvying up leftovers for employees and boarding up the windows so people dont feel the temptation to go inside and grab a bottle. And then, Gomez added, I wept. With touring suspended, artists have taken to livestreaming apps to reach their fans, and corporate giants like Live Nation and AEG have had to contend with the knotty cash-flow problem of billions of dollars in potential ticket refunds. Yet the shutdown has also highlighted the struggle of independent venues the network of thousands of clubs and theaters that dot the national concert map. ... More |
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How Tim Gunn sees fashion history in art at The Met | Met Stories
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Stanley Moser, virtuoso encyclopedia marketer, dies at 88
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Stanley Moser had a knack for selling Funk & Wagnalls encyclopedias and other affordable reference books to the American middle class. One of his earliest great ideas was to price the first volume of a set at 9 cents. Supermarket shoppers snapped them up, and then were hooked on buying the rest. Moser spent three decades in the encyclopedia business, starting out in accounting, rising to become an executive and owner, and exiting just before the internet effectively marked an end to the era of the printed encyclopedia. He died April 14 in Fort Lee, New Jersey. He was 88. His daughter, Elena Moser, said the cause was complications related to COVID-19. Nine days earlier, Mosers wife of 67 years, Marilyn, had died in the hospital of complications of the coronavirus. Funk & Wagnalls was a mass-market ... More
Why 'Do the Right Thing' is still a great movie
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- For our latest Weekend Watch Party, we revisited the broiling Brooklyn of Spike Lees Do the Right Thing, a film whose unflinching, complex depiction of racial tension has not dated much in 31 years. What has changed is that the movie, enormously controversial when it was released in 1989, has been embraced as a classic. Its part of the curriculum now: We received comments from high school students who watched it for class as well as remarks from some teachers. The students had a lot to say about Lees painful themes and arguments, which, among other things, dynamically put Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X into play. Unlike too many contemporary (OK, white) critics who focused on their own racial fears, the students also appreciated Lees art. Badly made films seldom make history, and one ... More
Lockdown movie strikes eerie note at German virtual film festival
FRANKFURT AM MAIN (AFP).- Emptied streets below Frankfurt's towering skyscrapers, people desperate for human contact after endless video calls and lockdown enforcement mark one of the winners at this year's Lichter film festival in Germany's financial capital. Last week's regional feature film winner "Live" isn't an up-to-the-minute documentary, but a near-future thought experiment that brewed for years in the head of director and screenwriter Lisa Charlotte Friederich. Since the virus began taking over headlines and sweeping aside public life, "we've had to get used to the idea that we've made a film that's very similar to what we're all experiencing now," Friederich tells AFP. The movie was in fact inspired years earlier by the wave of deadly terror attacks that swept Europe in 2015-16, from Paris to Brussels and Bavaria. Friederich and her crew ... More
How will European tourism survive the virus?
PARIS (AFP).- Tourism is a key component in the European economy, accounting for 10 percent of all activity but it now faces its greatest challenge -- how to survive the coronavirus pandemic? International tourist arrivals could plunge by 60 to 80 percent in 2020 owing to the coronavirus, the World Tourism Organization warned Thursday, meaning the local business is going to be essential. Here are three immediate questions for the industry. France is the world's leading destination for holiday travel but President Emmanuel Macron warned earlier this week it was "too soon to say if we can take vacations" this year. EU internal market commissioner Thierry Breton believes "some zones will be open to tourists, but not others," depending on the health situation. Many people appear to be planning local holidays as international travel looks set to be ... More
Bridge Ahead Initiative supports Art Bridges partners during COVID-19 pandemic
BENTONVILLE, ARK.- Art Bridges, a foundation dedicated to expanding access to American art in all regions across the nation, is committing $5 million to its partner museums as they face implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bridge Ahead Initiative recognizes that Art Bridges partner museums, many of which are located in small and mid-sized communities, are facing serious financial challenges posed by COVID-19 closures. Funding will be distributed following a simple application process. Art Bridges is committed to supporting our partners as they provide greater access to American art in their communities, even while their doors are closed, said Art Bridges Founder and Board Chair Alice Walton. We believe staying connected is important now and in the future, so were launching the Bridge Ahead Initiative to assist Art Bridges partners ... More
Coins from thousands of years ago being auctioned
SANTA ANA, CA.- The fascinating world of ancient coins offers both exceptional, handmade artistry as well as intriguing, poignant touchstones to larger-than-life characters of the past. Now, beginner coin collectors and seasoned numismatic pros alike have the chance to own ancient history via Stacks Bowers May 2020 World Collectors Choice Online Auction on May 13 at 10 a.m. PT. On account of the seemingly endless array of coins issued throughout antiquity, the field can seem rather daunting to the beginner. Additionally, there may be the notion that such coins are inherently cost prohibitive and many times more expensive that their more modern counterparts. However, many of these rarities can be had for as little as $200, which makes them the perfect choice for those just starting out in numismatics. In Stacks Bowers upcoming ... More
New public artwork at London's Wembley Park raising awareness about mental health
LONDON.- Wembley Park unveils the latest in its series of public art commissions for the areas iconic Spanish Steps, which connect the national stadium with The SSE Arena, Wembley. The artwork, commissioned in collaboration with mental health charity Mind, and installed prior to the lockdown, aims to raise awareness about the importance of mental health, a topic that has only increased in importance since the COVID-19 pandemic. Artwork by North-East based spray can artist Frank Styles adorns the Spanish Steps with an abstract and thought-provoking design. A series of 12 portraits run down the steps; viewed from head on, three of the portraits on each section of the stairs are visible, but the fourth can be seen only if you look over from the adjacent flight. Called, One in Four, the work symbolises that understanding mental health ... More
Rosalind Elias, a popular American mezzo-soprano, dies at 90
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Rosalind Elias, an American mezzo-soprano with a rich voice and vibrant stage presence who was a mainstay of the Metropolitan Opera for more than 40 years, died Sunday in Manhattan. She was 90. She had been treated recently for a congestive heart condition, Robert Lombardo, her manager, said in announcing her death. Though Elias appeared with the worlds major opera companies, she was best known for her association with the Met, where she sang some 680 performances of more than 50 roles, last appearing there in 1996 as Hata in Smetanas The Bartered Bride. To every performance she brought plush sound, exacting musicianship and dramatic integrity, qualities that radiated even in supporting roles. Writing of her performance as Suzuki, the selfless servant to Cio-Cio-San in Puccinis ... More
11-year old London girl scoops inaugural Bourlet Young Masters Art Prize with still life painting
LONDON.- Charlotte Gervis from London has won the first ever Bourlet Young Masters Art Prize with a still life painting of hydrangeas and cherries in a vase with a pomegranate in the foreground. The 11-year olds winning entry was chosen from nearly 300 submissions from across the UK. The judging panel - including Lorna May Wadsworth, one of Britains leading portrait painters, BBC Fake or Fortune star and respected art expert, Philip Mould, along with artist Davina Jackson - thought the work was accomplished and beautiful and demonstrated the young artists innate understanding of form and colour. She wins a hand crafted Bourlet frame for her artwork, a voucher for £150 worth of materials from the countrys foremost independent art supplies retailer, Cass Art, £150 spending money, plus the honour of seeing her still life hung ... More
The Sheldon Mayer Estate featuring Sugar and Spike & many of his earliest works sells for $284,452
LOS ANGELES, CA.- The Sheldon Mayer collections featuring Sugar and Spike comic strips was auctioned for $284,452 last Thursday by Nate D. Sanders Auctions. The highest price realized was an Original "Scribbly" artwork from September 1939, which sold for $29,845. These iconic four pages of Scribbly appeared as four complete stories in the #6 issue, chronicling Scribbly Jibbet's journey of getting hired as a 13 1/2 year old boy cartoonist, a storyline based on Mayer's own experiences in the comic book industry during the early 1930s. One of the most influential cartoonists of the Golden Age of Comics, Sheldon Mayer delighted his readers with the adventures of his characters Sugar and Spike, Scribbly the Boy Cartoonist, and The Three Mouseketeers, along with his popular artwork of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, throughout ... More
Single owner collection of English coins fetches almost £70,000 at Dix Noonan Webb
LONDON.- A single owner collection of English Coins was the highlight of International coins, medals, banknotes and jewellery specialists Dix Noonan Webbs recent live online auction of Coins on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. The highest price in the auction was paid for a Proof Crown dating from 1847 and the reign of Queen Victoria. It sold for an inclusive price of £9,920, against an estimate of £7,000-9,000. The next four highest prices were all English Coins from the collection formed by the late Dr John Hulett which was comprised 80 lots and was 100% sold. The collection, of which was no less than the 18th part sold by DNW, fetched £69,254. Many rare halfcrowns were in the collection. The highest price paid was for an issue from the Hereford mint, depicting King Charles I on horseback. The reverse is unique among the silver coins of Charles I, showing ... More
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PhotoGalleries
Prohibition
Vincent Michéa
Roy De Forest
Franz Klainsek
Flashback On a day like today, Finnish illustrator Tom of Finland was born May 08, 1920. Touko Valio Laaksonen (8 May 1920 - 7 November 1991), best known by his pseudonym Tom of Finland, was a Finnish artist known for his stylized highly masculinized homoerotic fetish art, and for his influence on late twentieth century gay culture. He has been called the "most influential creator of gay pornographic images" by cultural historian Joseph W. Slade. In this image: Tom of Finland, Untitled, c.1978. Graphite on paper, 29.7 x 21 cm; 11 3/4 x 8 1/4 ins. Copyright Tom of Finland Foundation
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