| The First Art Newspaper on the Net |   | Established in 1996 | Friday, August 3, 2018 |
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| | Who built Stonehenge? Cremation ashes found near Neolithic monument yield clues | |
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Revellers watch the sunrise as they celebrate the pagan festival of Summer Solstice at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, southern England on June 21, 2018. The festival, which dates back thousands of years, celebrates the longest day of the year when the sun is at its maximum elevation. Modern druids and people gather at the landmark Stonehenge every year to see the sun rise on the first morning of summer. Geoff CADDICK / AFP.
by Marlowe Hood
PARIS (AFP).- Despite a century of scientific scrutiny, the 5000-year old Neolithic monument in southern England known as Stonehenge has yielded few secrets about the people buried amidst its ring of towering rocks. Most of their remains were cremated, leaving only ashes, a few bone fragments, and an archeological dead-end. But a eureka moment discovery by Christophe Snoeck, a University of Oxford graduate student at the time, revealed that many probably came from as far afield as Wales in western Britain, source of the bluestone used to carve Stonehenge's mysterious and entrancing monuments. Some of these pre-historic wayfarers -- who may have helped transport the massive stones -- were cremated before their ashes were laid to rest, Snoeck and colleagues reported in a study published Thursday in Scientific Reports. Others may have died on the job, or sett ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day Palestinians walk by aquatic creatures displayed at the first aquarium that opened the previous day in the West Bank city of Ramallah on July 24, 2018. ABBAS MOMANI / AFP
| Sotheby's expands Impressionist & Modern Art team in the Americas | | 15th-century masterpiece loaned to the Rijksmuseum | | Thieves snatch Swedish crown jewels in daylight heist | 
Simon Shaw will assume the full-time role of Vice Chairman of the Global Fine Art Division. Courtesy Sotheby's.
NEW YORK, NY.- Sothebys announced the expansion of its Impressionist & Modern Art Department in the Americas, with several promotions and appointments. After more than four years as Worldwide Co-Head of Impressionist & Modern Art at Sothebys, and a decade leading the New York department, Simon Shaw will assume the full-time role of Vice Chairman of the Global Fine Art Division. In this new capacity, Simon will lend his expertise to help key clients build their collections across the spectrum of 20th Century Art. Since joining the auction house in 1996, Simons tenure has been distinguished by sales from the collections of some of the most notable names in the field and the auctions of the two highest-selling works in Sothebys history: Edvard Munchs The Scream (2012), and Amedeo Modiglianis Nu couché (sur le côté gauche) (2018). Simon joins long-tenured colleagues leading Sothebys business development effo ... More | | 
Saint Jerome and Saint Catherine of Alexandria. Bruges or Brussels, c. 1480-1490, oil on panel, 84.5 x 61 cm. On loan from the Broere Charitable Foundation.
AMSTERDAM.- Never before has the masterpiece Saint Jerome and Saint Catherine of Alexandria been on view in a museum. The painting arrived at the Rijksmuseum this week on long-term loan from the Broere Charitable Foundation, from which a number of works have been on display at the Rijksmuseum since 2012. The panel was painted between 1480 and 1490 in Bruges or Brussels and shows Saint Jerome and Saint Catherine of Alexandria seated behind a gilded arcade, with a panoramic landscape in the background. This highly detailed painting is of high quality and in good condition. The painting is being exhibited at the Rijksmuseum from today. Taco Dibbits, General Director of the Rijksmuseum: Thanks to this generous loan from the Broere Charitable Foundation, we are able to introduce our visiting public to 15th-century painting of the Southern Netherlands, which is hardly represented in Dutch museums. Matthias Ubl, Curator of Early ... More | | 
A picture taken on July 31, 2018 shows a cordoned zone as Swedish police investigates after Swedens royal jewels dated from the 17th century have been stolen in the Strängnäs cathedral. Pontus STENBERG / TT News Agency / AFP.
STOCKHOLM (AFP).- Robbers who nabbed two 17th century royal crowns and an orb from a Swedish cathedral remained at large on Wednesday, a day after fleeing their daring midday heist by motorboat. The thieves, who have not been identified, and the jewels are being sought internationally via Interpol, Swedish police spokesman Stefan Dangardt said, noting the objects were a "national treasure" and would likely be "very difficult to sell". The gold burial crowns from 1611 belonging to King Karl IX and his wife Queen Christina were originally interred with the couple but were later exhumed and had been on display in a locked glass cabinet in Strangnas Cathedral, located 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of Stockholm. King Karl IX's crown is made of gold and features crystals and pearls, while Christina's is smaller and made of gold, precious stones ... More |
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| Police find shark stolen from Texas aquarium in stroller | | Amsterdam orchestra sacks conductor Gatti over abuse charges | | Two new species of Indian lizard described by Museum scientist | 
An employee shows delight because Miss Helen is alright.
CHICAGO (AFP).- Police in the US state of Texas have recovered a small shark smuggled out of an aquarium in a baby carriage by three thieves, and arrested one of the alleged culprits. Police found the shark early Monday, two days after it was taken from the San Antonio Aquarium in a daring mid-day heist. Three thieves were caught on surveillance video removing the shark from its display, placing it in a bucket and smuggling it out in a stroller. They drove away in a red truck as aquarium staff were catching up with them. Police found the truck and tips helped them trace the vehicle Monday to the home of Antone Shannon, according to the San Antonio Express-News. The 38-year-old confessed to the crime and has been charged with theft, the Express-News said. "He had a lot of different marine animals in the home, very much knew what he was doing," Leon Valley ... More | | 
In this file photo taken on September 14, 2016 Daniele Gatti, the new chef conductor of the Koninklijk Concertgebouw orchestra poses after receiving a bike as a welcome in Amsterdam. Remko de Waal / ANP / AFP.
THE HAGUE.- The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, widely regarded as one of the world's leading ensembles, on Thursday sacked its chief conductor, Daniele Gatti, following media allegations of sexual assault. "The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra has terminated the cooperation with chief conductor Daniele Gatti with immediate effect," the prestigious Amsterdam-based ensemble said in a statement. It said a July 26 article in The Washington Post "in which Gatti was accused of inappropriate behaviour... has irreparably damaged the relationship of trust between the orchestra and the chief conductor." Milan-born Gatti, 56, took up the baton in Amsterdam in 2016, after an eight-year tenure as chief conductor of the Orchestre National ... More | | 
The second new species, Sitana gokakensis. © V Deepak
LONDON.- About 50 million years ago, Asia's climate was transformed by landmasses colliding, the birth of the Himalaya mountain range and the planet cooling. Over time, these large geological changes caused the heavy seasonal rainfall, known as monsoons, to develop in India. But as the monsoons stabilised, the region also experienced periods of dryness. Deepak Veerappan, Marie Curie Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Natural History Museum, has been investigating the effect the development of this dynamic weather system might have had on the diversity of animals evolving at the time. Deepak was at the Centre for Ecological Science in Bangalore, India, until 2016 investigating a group of reptiles known as fan-throated lizards, which appeared around 18 million years ago in the midst of this climatic upheaval. There he realised that not only were there more species in this group ... More |
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| Cat abduction from Moscow museum captivates Russians | | Artists remove work from Design Museum this morning in opposition to arms company event | | The Saatchi Gallery opens exhibition of prints by 30 emerging artists priced at only £125 | 
Begemot has lived since 2005 in a museum dedicated to the writer Mikhail Bulgakov. Photo: Bulgakov House / Facebook.
MOSCOW.- The search for a Moscow museum's most famous employee -- a large shaggy black cat - has captivated Russians following its mysterious abduction. Begemot has lived since 2005 in a museum dedicated to the writer Mikhail Bulgakov and is named after a devious giant cat character in his mystical novel "The Master and Margarita." Museum staff reported Begemot's disappearance to police on Wednesday afternoon after witnesses saw an unidentified woman pick it up and carry it towards the metro. "His disappearance set all of Moscow in uproar," reported Moskva-24 local television. "The most important member of staff at the Bulgakov museum has gone missing," reported another channel, TV Centre. The 15-year-old cat is an official member of staff at the museum and is a popular attraction in his own right, often photographed slinking around the atmospheric museum or sunbathing ... More | | 
Over 40 artists, including designer of iconic Obama HOPE poster and Grenfell justice campaigners, have demanded their work be removed in opposition to arms trade event. Photo: Luke Forsythe.
LONDON.- A large group of artists took back their work from the current Hope to Nope exhibition at the Design Museum in Kensington, London. They were joined by representatives of movements in Syria, Hong Kong and Bahrain who have been repressed using UK-manufactured weapons. They verified that their work has indeed been removed, collected it and ensure the statement they have asked for has been put in its place. Around a dozen artists attended, including Peter Kennard, Tim Fishlock (Oddly Head), This Ain't Rock'n'Roll, the Space Hijackers, Keep it Complex Make it Clear, Occupy Design Collective, Bristol Streetwear, the Craftivists Collective, Dr D and BP or not BP? Many others gave permission for their work to be collected too. The Hope to Nope exhibition, which runs until 12th August 2018, explores "how graphic ... More | | 
Oscar Francis, Raze Robin Hood, 2018. Screenprint on paper, 55 x 75 cm. © Oscar Francis, 2018. Image courtesy of the Saatchi Gallery, London.
LONDON.- The Saatchi Gallery opened 3018 in the Prints & Originals Gallery. 3018 is an exhibition that presents 30 new works of art by 30 emerging artists. All the works are prints measuring 55 x 75cm and each print is priced at only £125 to maximise the opportunity for people to buy exciting new contemporary art. Each artist has collaborated with the Jealous Print Studio, London to produce a limited edition of 36 signed and numbered prints. The 30 artists were selected as part of the Jealous Needs You programme which openly invited submissions from artists in the UK and abroad. The works cover a variety of styles and subjects. From surreal collages to calm abstraction and from emotive expressionism to cool detachment, the prints represent a snapshot of art being produced in London and beyond. Magda Archer trained at Ravensbourne College of Art, ... More |
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| Broken treasures revived in Rome's little shop of doll horrors | | Frozen in time, Havana looks to put a modern stamp on its 500-year history | | A decade after death, Solzhenitsyn draws a blank with young Russians | 
Federico Squatriti and his mother Gesolmina work in their 15-square-meter Doll Hospital workshop along Via di Ripetta in Rome, which is packed with parts of antique dolls, toy soldiers, puppets and ceramics figurines. Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP.
ROME (AFP).- Tucked away in one of Rome's most fashionable shopping districts, antique doll parts pile up in the tiny shopfront of the Squatriti family boutique, offering a window into another age. Neapolitan theatre actors forced to diversify in the aftermath of the Second World War, the Squatritis opened the little shop of doll horrors in 1953, initially with the idea of restoring valuables belonging to wealthy families that were damaged during the conflict. But they quickly began to specialise in antique dolls, some dating back to the 19th century. "With the economic boom, our business expanded: the first collectors appeared, the small collections... people started to want to repair old objects," said Federico Squatriti. "The store grew like that." Federico, 56, runs the shop that has been a true family affair ever since it first opened. His ... More | | 
Old American cars drive along Havana's Malecon on July 12, 2018. Havana, object of desire of historians and tourists, will celebrate its 500th anniversary in 2019. YAMIL LAGE / AFP.
HAVANA (AFP).- Havana could be compared to the colorful 1950s classic American cars that fill its roads: an object of desire for historians and tourists alike. To walk through its streets is to take a step back in time. Run-down homes show signs of salt erosion as waves from the Caribbean Sea batter away at the city's seawall, while at the day's end the setting sun paints the sky orange. Despite the visual signs of deterioration, Havana is spiritually alive. The Cuban capital will celebrate 500 years in 2019, with an urban restoration plan aiming to give space to modernity while maintaining respect for its vintage character. "Havana remains frozen in time. The revolution's aims were to look after the country," city historian Eusebio Leal, who's in charge of restoring the historic center, told AFP. "Undeniably there's been a cost. When you go around you can see the city's damaged and covered by ... More | | 
In this file photograph taken on May 27, 1994, Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn arrives at Vladivostok Airport, following 20 years of exile. Michael EVSTAFIEV / AFP.
MOSCOW (AFP).- A decade after the hugely influential author's death, some young Russians admit to only a passing knowledge of Russian dissident writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who won a Nobel Prize for chronicling the horrors of the Soviet Gulag. "Solzhenitsyn was a dissident, someone who opposed the Soviet regime and he was a great writer," summed up Alexander Polyakovsky, 23, who is studying international relations. He admits he has not read any of the author's books. "They talked about him a bit when I was at high school, during the Russian literature lessons, but I don't remember too much," he added. Rather than hearing about Solzhenitsyn from teachers, "it was my mother who explained to me that he was one of the greatest writers of the 20th century," Polyakovsky said. By contrast, his mother Yelena emotionally described how she discovered ... More |
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David Claerbout interview about Duration in his work.
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 Summer exhibition at Kunsthaus Bregenz focuses on David Claerbout's video and sound worksBREGENZ.- Visitors coming into the entrance hall of the Kunsthaus Bregenz this summer will face a large screen. A sequence of images fades into the soft ambient light of Peter Zumthors famous building. The video work The Quiet Shore, 2011, seems as if it were made for this place. It is a work by David Claerbout, one of the most renowned and significant contemporary artists. This years summer exhibition at the Kunsthaus Bregenz focuses on his video and sound works. The Quiet Shore is not a film, but a sequence of black-and-white images without a plot. A coastal town in Brittany. It is low tide. The sea has retreated to a mirror-smooth surface in the distance. People can be seen from behind. Some boys stand in the shallow water around a playmate. He forcefully beats both hands into the water so that it splashes around him in a crown. This is the moment ... More Kenyan women lead bold revival of libraries' faded gloryNAIROBI (AFP).- Despite its dilapidated state, a handful of Kenyans still seek out the 1930s neoclassical grandeur of Nairobi's McMillan library, complete with granite columns on its imposing facade. They are drawn more by the tranquil refuge offered from Nairobi's urban hubbub than for the meagre and chaotic array of books on its shelves. Soon though, if publisher Angela Wachuka and author Wanjiru Koinange have their way, the faded glory of the past will give way to modern amenities and a renovated space. The pair are working to restore three Nairobi libraries that have been neglected for decades. "I refuse to live in a city where children can actually grow up having never entered a library, which is the case of the Nairobi we are living in," Koinange, 32, who grew up in the Kenyan capital, told AFP. In 2017, the young women launched the "Book Bunk" scheme to ... More The 5th annual Brooklyn Antiquarian Book Fair to kick off Brooklyn Book WeekBROOKLYN, NY.- Its big! Book lovers by the hundreds, will be heading to Brooklyn this Fall for what has become one of the largest and most popular literary events in the country. Brooklyn Book Week, as it is informally known, is a week-long celebration of books both old and new. It kicks off with the return of the Brooklyn Antiquarian Book Fair (BABF) to Greenpoint's Brooklyn Expo Center, September 8 & 9. The 100-exhibitor Fair is the largest regional book fair of its kind. The depth and diversity of exhibitors, talks and galleries makes it a showcase for the best of the best in vintage and rare books; prints, photos and ephemera. This is the Fair where rare book librarians from top libraries and museums mix with collectors and fair-goers of all ages. Exhibitors, heralding from 20 states, Italy, England and Canada, will have on display and for sale over 50,000 items! ... More NEW INC announces new cohort of arts tech innovators, with additional support from Knight FoundationNEW YORK, NY.- NEW INC, the New Museums incubator program for cultural practitioners and creative entrepreneurs, has announced it will extend its museum technology focus track for two additional years, with a new investment of $660,000 from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Building on the successes of NEW INCs first museum technology cohort, which completed projects in 2018, members of the forthcoming cohort will research and develop transformative new technology applications for art museums. The second cohort, whose projects are described below, will begin in September 2018. NEW INC is a shared workspace and professional development program based at the New Museum on Manhattans Lower East Side. It brings together more than one hundred cultural practitioners and creative entrepreneurs for a twelve-month program that focuses ... More Hillwood announces departure of Angie Dodson to become director of Montgomery Museum of Fine ArtsWASHINGTON, DC.- Angie Dodson, director of learning and engagement and co-chair of special exhibitions at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, has been appointed director of the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) in Montgomery, Alabama. On the staff for nearly 20 years, she will depart Hillwood on August 31. Dodson, who joined Hillwood in 1999 as the associate head of interpretation, was instrumental in Hillwoods growth and progress over the last two decades, especially as the museum underwent a major transformation. In September 2000, Hillwood reopened to the public after a three-year closure for major renovations. The museum was upgraded to modern standards, featuring state-of-the-art lighting, HVAC and security systems, renewed plantings and restored sculptures throughout the gardens, and a new visitor center. In addition to establishing new interpretive ... More Lincoln Center announces 2018 White Light FestivalNEW YORK, NY.- Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts announced its 2018 White Light Festival, which will run October 16 through November 18. The multidisciplinary festival will feature events presented in six venues across the city, including world, U.S., and New York premieres. The ninth annual international festival will explore transcendence, interior illumination, and the communal impulse as exhibited through artistic expression across continents and centuries. "Today we are both more connected and less connected than ever before," said Jane Moss, Ehrenkranz Artistic Director of Lincoln Center. "This year's White Light Festival offers an array of exemplary cross-cultural performances that explore inner contemplation as well as outward creative expression, offering new, profound communal experiences." The festival takes its name from a quotation by Estonian ... More Brooklyn Museum acquires Karon Davis's 'Nicotine' LOS ANGELES, CA.- Wilding Cran Gallery announced the acquisition of Karon Daviss Nicotine (2015) by the Brooklyn Museum. This acquisition was made possible through the generosity of Beth Rudin DeWoody. Nicotine was created as one of three 'nurse' sculptures for Daviss Pain Management installation at Wilding Cran in 2016, which reflected on the physical and emotional experience of pain and loss. Each of the three nurses played a different role in relief from pain: Morphine embodied an angel, Ifosfamide was an ominous scarecrow, and Nicotine played the role of stoic caretaker. Since Pain Management, Daviss work has been included in several museum exhibitions internationally including: Starless Midnight, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art (Newcastle, UK), NEW SUNS, Bonnefantenmuseum (Maastricht, NL), and Reclamation! Pan-African ... More GreenHill highlights nine North Carolina photographers with analog processesGREENSBORO, NC.- GreenHill presents photography by eight North Carolina artists in an exhibition entitled Analog. The work is on view at GreenHill from August 3 November 4, 2018. Admission is free to view and open to the public. All artworks are available for purchase. Artists on view are Signe Ballew, Diana H. Bloomfield, Courtney Johnson, Michael Keaveney, Holden Richards, Dale Rio, elin oHara slavick, and Joshua White. Using traditional, analog, and alternative process photography, the artworks in this exhibition capture fleeting moments out of time and space. Kallitypes, cyanotypes, Polaroids, and lumen prints are some of the mediums used by these North Carolina photographers exploring the field of photography, both in subject matter and process. The ghostly scenes of abandoned Americana captured on film in Dale Rios series Forgotten 66 seem ... More Biggs Museum opens rare Audubon exhibitionDOVER, DE.- From August 3 - November 25, 2018, the Biggs Museum will host an exhibition of over 50 original etchings and lithographs of well-known artist and naturalist John James Audubon. The works will be displayed alongside the work of contemporary artists from America and the United Kingdom who have been influenced by his monumental animal studies. In 1826 when John James Audubon turned 41, his wife encouraged him to travel to England to find innovative ways to reproduce over 300 watercolor bird studies into one of the most important projects in art history. He had been studying rare and beautiful birds across the North American landscape for over a decade and had amassed an enormous library of original images and field notes. These images formed his iconic, monumental Birds of America totaling over 400 life-size studies of his ... More LAMA announces lineup for September auction; fresh material to hit the marketLOS ANGELES, CA.- Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA), the premier auction house on the West Coast for Modern and Contemporary Art & Design, announced this week the list of highlights that will headline their fall auction held on September 30, 2018. Each of the top featured works will be fresh to the market and have been sourced from various local estates and important collections. The auction, LAMAs largest of the 2018 year, will feature over 380 works with a pre-auction estimate of $3.5-$5.1 million. Among the rarest is a 1969 construction by Sergio Camargo (est.: $500,000-700,000) which was only recently discovered in a Southern California home where it has been residing since purchased in 1971. Camargo, a Brazilian artist and a member of the European movement GRAV (Groupe de Recherche dArt Visuel), is best known for his monochromatic ... More |
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Flashback On a day like today, French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson died August 03, 2004. Henri Cartier-Bresson (August 22, 1908 - August 3, 2004) was a French humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 35 mm film. In this image: Gandhi dictates a message, just after breaking his fast Birla House, Delhi, India 1948 35 x 52.5 cm. ©Henri Cartier-Bresson/Magnum Photos.
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