| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net |   | Established in 1996 | Saturday, August 29, 2020 |
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| | The British Museum reopens to a world that has changed | |
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The Egyptian sculpture gallery at the newly-reopened British Museum in London on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020. The museum has altered several exhibits to reflect its links to slavery and colonialism. Tom Jamieson/The New York Times.
by Alex Marshall
LONDON (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- After being closed for 163 days by the coronavirus pandemic, the British Museum on Thursday became the last of EuropeÂs major museums to welcome back visitors. As at other institutions these days, there were hand sanitizer stations and one-way routes, a limited number of visitors, and many masks. But the museum has made some more permanent changes, too. Hartwig Fischer, the museumÂs director, said in an interview that the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in May, and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests around the world, had Âaltered the awareness of everybody. The events made him want to intensify the museumÂs work addressing its links with slavery and colonialism, he said. The museum made two main changes for the reopening, Fischer said. The first was moving a bust of Hans Sloane  a physician and collector of curiosities whose holdings formed the basis of the m ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day A visitor stands by looking at an Andy Warhol Soup cans piece at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) on August 27, 2020 in New York City. Museums and cultural institutions around the city have been closed since mid March due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Michael Loccisano/Getty Images/AFP.
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 | | Manifesta 13 Marseille launches Le Grand Puzzle and opens its first exhibitions | | Rijksmuseum and Nederlands Fotomuseum acquire artistic estate of Ed van der Elsken | | Keith Haring's personal art collection to be auctioned for charity | 
A Model Childhood, 2018 2020 © Ken Okiishi.
MARSEILLE.- Manifesta 13: From the pre biennial urban study Le Grand Puzzle, to the citizens assemblies Le Tour de Tous les Possibles, Manifesta 13 Marseille is more than just a series of exhibitions and has sought out collaborations with citizens across multiple disciplines to emphasise the potentials that exist in the local context. This is why the biennial commissioned an urban study of Marseille that is now presented as the publication Le Grand Puzzle, conceived by Rotterdam-based architectural studio MVRDV and The Why Factory. The research reveals Marseilles specificities, possibilities, dreams, necessities and complexities, resulting in a multi-narrated, mosaic-like grand puzzle. Le Grand Puzzle is a tool for citizens to rethink the potential of their city and illustrates different possibilities for new and more accessible urban landscapes. Following on from this research, Hedwig Fijen and Winy Maas ... More | | 
Ed van der Elsken, from the Photo Book Een liefdesgeschiedenis in Saint Germain des Prés (Love on the Left Bank), before 1956. Gelatin silver print.
AMSTERDAM.- The Rijksmuseum and the Nederlands Fotomuseum have jointly acquired the artistic estate of the photographer Ed van der Elsken (1925-1990), safeguarding for the nation the largest archive of work by one of the most important Dutch photographers of the 20th century. This acquisition will make it possible, for the first time, to gain a complete understanding of Van der Elskens artistic practice over the entire course of his more than 40-year career. Van der Elskens widow Anneke Hilhorst has for 30 years managed her late husbands artistic legacy, comprising 10,000 objects. The Rijksmuseum is to obtain more than 7,700 prints, while the Nederlands Fotomuseum will add 3,000 contact sheets and 300 photographs to its collection. The Rijksmuseum and the Nederlands Fotomuseum are working together to open ... More | | 
Kenny Scharf, Untitled. Estimate: $18/25,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.
by Zachary Small
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Owning a private collection of nearly 140 artworks by luminaries like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein would be a godsend for most arts organizations, but it was a burden for the Keith Haring Foundation. Legal counsel had warned the nonprofit for years that keeping a collection made by artists other than its founder might fail to serve its charitable purpose. So last year the foundation began arranging with Sothebys to sell the artworks in an online auction called Dear Keith, with all proceeds benefiting the Center, an LGBTQ community organization in the West Village. The sale is scheduled to begin on Sept. 24 and is expected to raise nearly $1 million with a selection ranging from a $100 painting by David Bowes ... More |
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| | Banksy funds Mediterranean refugee rescue boat | | Grandma Moses stars in American Art sale at Swann September 17 | | Grayson Perry unveils unseen edition of Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman at its "spiritual home" the British Museum | 
Picture taken on August 22, 2020 and released on August 28, 2020 shows small rescue boat that are part of the Sea-Watch 4 civil sea rescue ship.Thomas Lohnes / AFP / Chris GRODOTZKI.
by Hervé Bar
ROME (AFP).- British street artist Banksy has funded a pink-and-white charity vessel rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean, a news report and the ship's operators said Friday. Named after the 19th-century French anarchist Louise Michel, the German-flagged vessel on Thursday rescued 89 people from a rubber boat in distress, its crew said on Twitter. The survivors, including 14 women and two children, "need a Place of Safety now", it said. The funding of the high-speed boat is the latest move by the artist, whose work often makes scathing judgements on Europe's hesitant response to the migrant crisis that peaked about five years ago. Thousands of people are thought to have died making the dangerous crossing across the Mediterranean to flee conflict, repression and poverty ... More | | 
Grandma Moses, Happy Days, oil on masonite, 1961 (detail). Estimate $50,000 to $80,000.
NEW YORK, NY.- Swann Galleries will open the fall 2020 auction season with a sale of American Art on September 17. The sale encompasses the visions of Impressionism, Regionalism and early Modernism, with seaside portraits showcasing various coastal destinations featuring prominently throughout the sale. A top highlight of the auction is a work by Anna Mary Robertson (Grandma) Moses. Completed at 101 years of age, Happy Days is a 1961 oil-on-masonite painting depicting a typical scene of Mosess, a rural family working happily on their farm. The work is set to come across the block estimated at $50,000 to $80,000. The painting, with exhibition and publication history, last appeared on the market more than 40 years ago. Works from the nineteenth century include a run of circa-1880 coastal scenes by Alfred Thompson Bricher with the oil-on-canvas works Low Tide, South Head, Grand Manan Island ($20,000-30,000), and Schooner off the Coast, Bi ... More | | 
Grayson Perry (b. 1960), The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman, 2011. Cast iron, oil paint, glass, rope, wood, flint hand axe. © Grayson Perry. Courtesy Victoria Miro.
LONDON.- Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry this morning unveiled the installation of a previously unseen edition of his work The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman at the British Museum. The Tomb is an elaborate, richly decorated cast-iron coffin-ship and was originally conceived as the centrepiece of Perrys 2011 exhibition of the same name at the Museum. It has been brought back to its spiritual home after 9 years to celebrate the reopening of the British Museum, which is welcoming visitors again after the longest peacetime closure in its history. Perry, who is a trustee of the Museum, created 4 versions of the Tomb in 2011 (3 editions plus an artists proof) one of which was shown in his exhibition. But this version remained unfinished until now, with Perry completing the work just days before its unveiling. It features over 140 glass bottles, with the final two being put in ... More |
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| | Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo opens an exhibition of works by Olafur Eliasson | | Celebrity hospitality bus for sale with H&H Classics for £20,000 | | Beatles fans get back to where they once belonged | 
Olafur Eliasson,
The exploration of the centre of the sun, 2017. Installation view: PKM Gallery, Seoul, 2017. Photo: Jeon Byung Cheol, 2017. Courtesy of the artist and PKM Gallery, Seoul © 2017 Olafur Eliasson.
TOKYO.- Originally scheduled to begin on March 20, Olafur Eliassons exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo opened on June 19. As neither the artist nor the staff of Studio Olafur Eliasson were able to come to Japan due to Covid-19, the exhibition, which involved the installation of 12 rooms of works including six rooms of new ones, was realized by communicating remotely. The title of the exhibition, Sometimes the river is the bridge, suggests the possibility of bestowing form and function onto formless thingslike invisible rivers that may appear to be bridges with a particular form and function, when viewed from a different, alternative perspective. Inspired by the theme of sustainability, this exhibition takes its point of departure from Eliassons interest in the environment, as reflected ... More | | 
Ed Sheeran on the bus.
LONDON.- If this 1962 AEC Regent V double decker bus could speak what amazing tales it would tell of the many celebrities who have partied on it behind the scenes at music festivals. It will be going under the hammer with H&H Classics as part of their upcoming October 14th 2020 auction at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, Cambridgeshire and carries an estimate of £20,000 to £22,000. Among the many hundreds of music celebrities and VIPs who have been onboard are: Blondie, Duffy, Ed Sheeran, Little Mix and countless others. After a hardworking career as public transport on the Isle of Mann it then became a movable headquarters for the Purple Helmets motorcycle display team and finally a glamorous VIP party venue at music festivals. It is among only five such all-steel buses produced and the singer songwriters, Flanagan & Allan wrote a song about one of its siblings. The bus featured DJ decks for the artists to entertain each other and guests ... More | | 
Musician Paul Jones plays Beatles songs to the audience in the Cavern Club. OLI SCARFF / AFP.
by Paul Barker
LIVERPOOL (AFP).- Liverpool's Cavern Club, where The Beatles learnt their trade, has hosted its first gig since it was forced to close due to the coronavirus outbreak. "It's just great to be back," said Peter Naylor, a superfan of the Fab Four, as the city centre venue reopened its doors on Thursday. "Such an iconic club, such great music. We missed it, missed coming down here," he told AFP. Billed as "the most famous club in the world" and the "cradle of British pop music", the Cavern shut its doors in late March as the coronavirus pandemic took hold in Britain. Its reopening coincided with the first day of the seven-day annual International Beatleweek festival, which celebrates the music of the biggest pop band in history. Most events have been cancelled this year due to restrictions on audience numbers, but the cramped underground venue ... More |
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| | Itzhak Perlman, violin legend, still proves the critics wrong | | Douglas A.J. Latchford, Khmer antiquities expert, dies at 88 | | Copenhagen Contemporary opens an exhibition of works by the artist Christian Falsnaes | 
Itzhak Perlman at his home in East Hampton, N.Y., Aug. 16, 2020. Turning 75 this month, he has been so ubiquitous for so long that it is easy to take him for granted. Yael Malka/The New York Times.
by Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Itzhak Perlman is a superstar in classical music. And not just there: No other violinist enjoys his level of recognition among people who dont even go to traditional concerts. Many have seen him on Sesame Street, or at Madison Square Garden appearing alongside Billy Joel. They might have heard him speaking about disability issues, informed by the childhood bout of polio that took away the use of his legs. They might have teared up listening to the theme from Schindlers List, which Perlman infused with ineffable melancholy. Perlman has been so ubiquitous that it is easy to take for granted his status as the reigning virtuoso of the violin, as his marketing materials put it. But with his 75th birthday arriving ... More | | 
Adoration and Glory: The Golden Age of Khmer Art, by Emma C. Bunker and Douglas Latchford, in New York, March 9, 2017. Sonny Figueroa/The New York Times.
by Tom Mashberg
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Douglas A.J. Latchford, a pre-eminent collector of Cambodian antiquities who earned praise for his scholarly works on Khmer Empire art, only to be indicted last year by American prosecutors for illicitly trafficking in the selfsame objects, died Aug. 2 at his home in Bangkok. He was 88. The cause was organ failure brought on by complications of Parkinsons disease, according to his death certificate. A bon vivant and bodybuilding buff, Latchford was known for a half-century as a cultured accumulator of museum-quality Khmer sculptures and jewels. In 2008, the Cambodian government granted him the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Monisaraphon, the equivalent of a knighthood, for donating money and exhibits to its state museums. ... More | | 
Christian Falsnaes, LOOK AT ME (2020). Installation view, Copenhagen Contemporary,
2020. Photo: David Stjernholm.
COPENHAGEN.- On 26 August, the doors opened at Copenhagen Contemporary to the exhibition LOOK AT ME by the artist Christian Falsnaes, who is highly acclaimed abroad, but little known in Denmark. In his works, Falsnaes addresses power relations and the tension field between authorities and individuals, museums and visitors, artists and performers. He touches a raw nerve at the present time when he investigates how we react when an authority a prime minister, a president, an artist speaks to us using the imperative. Falsnaes stuns, moves, and challenges his audience and, with the exhibition LOOK AT ME, visitors now have a chance to experience the methods of this artist for themselves. In Hall 2, visitors will step into something resembling an art fair where the works are separated by white walls. Whereas art fairs usually present the galleries varied selections of the very best of art, ... More |
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The First Avant Garde: Masterworks from the Johnson Chang Collection
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 Walter Lure, guitarist for a 'mythical' punk band, dies at 71NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Walter Lure, who played rhythm guitar for the Heartbreakers, a pioneering band of the 1970s New York punk scene, and who had a most unpunk second career on Wall Street, died on Aug. 21 in New York. He was 71. Lures current group, Walter Lure and the Waldos, confirmed his death, at Flushing Hospital. His partner, Andy Le, said the cause was liver cancer. The Heartbreakers were together for a brief three years and recorded only one studio album, L.A.M.F., released in 1977 on the British label Track Records. But among the bands that clustered around downtown clubs like Maxs Kansas City and CBGB during the early punk years, the Heartbreakers had an outsize reputation. They were probably the best band besides the Ramones and the Dictators, Legs McNeil, a co-founder of Punk magazine and the ... More Faile explores new graphic possibilities in new exhibition at Danysz GalleryPARIS.- In this exhibition, Faile explores new graphic possibilities, introduces new themes, plays with cultural text borrowed from Disney and with elements taken from their personal lives, such as vinyls and books. We find in these new works something of a return to the roots, with references to graffiti as well as to a previous stay in Paris: the poster of a Birdy Nam Nam concert at the Olympia, a forgotten bicycle, the emblematic white tiling on the Paris subway, etc. In three years - since their last exhibition in Paris - Faile has pursued and deepened its narrative experiments. Here the two artists are having fun letting their creative juices splash out of the frame, transforming the walls of the gallery by covering them with wild, large, unreal landscapes, giving the space a false air of the great American West. But a West contaminated or infiltrated by urban references, ... More JK Rowling returns award over trans comments criticismLONDON (AFP).- "Harry Potter" creator JK Rowling said on Friday she would give back an award presented by the US Kennedy family after one of its members criticised her views on gender issues. The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organisation gave Rowling its Ripple of Hope honour last year. But the group's president, Kerry Kennedy, said this month the British writer's outspoken views on gender "diminished the identity" of trans people. "Kerry Kennedy recently felt it necessary to publish a statement denouncing my views," Rowling said in a statement on her website. "The statement incorrectly implied that I was transphobic, and that I am responsible for harm to trans people," she added. "I absolutely refute the accusation. "In solidarity with those who have contacted me but who are struggling to make their voices heard, and because ... More Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam announces new curator graphic designAMSTERDAM.- The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam appointed designer and educator Thomas Castro as the new curator of Graphic Design. The Filipino-American Castro was Head of Graphic Design at the ArtEZ University of Arts in Arnhem and he is co-founder of the award-winning studio LUST and LUSTLab, and research lab ZeroDotZero. With Castro as our third curator, the Design team is back at full strength. Thomas Castro studied psychology and fine arts at the University of California, Irvine. It was there that a tutor introduced him to late 80s Dutch graphic design. Castro was so inspired by the playful, experimental, disruptive visual language that he switched to graphic design, and decided to continue his education in the Netherlands. The new curator founded several successful (research) studios and has several awards and nominations ... More Sealed Pokémon first edition booster set could fetch $80K+ at Heritage AuctionsDALLAS, TX.- A rare sealed Pokémon booster set could bring $80,000 or more in Heritage Auctions' Comics Auction Sept. 10-13. The Pokémon First Edition Base Set Sealed Booster Box (Wizards of the Coast, 1999) $80,000+ leads a selection of 17 Pokémon lots that will be offered in the event. The booster box includes 396 cards, in 36 booster packs, each of which contains 11 cards. "This set is the first Pokémon set ever made, and comes from a very low print," said Jesus Garcia, Assistant Comics & Comic Art Operations Supervisor at Heritage Auctions. "Because the set is unopened, it is actually likely that each of the cards inside are in Gem Mint condition. It really represents the pinnacle of Pokémon collecting." The set was created in 1999, three years after Pokémon was created, by Wizards of the Coast and included 102 cards, the most ... More Rare early Zimbabwean modern art on show for first time in 70 yearsLONDON.- This month, a fascinating collection of rediscovered early works by young Zimbabwean painters can be seen by the public for the first time in almost seventy years. The Stars are Bright: Zimbabwe through the eyes of its young painters from Cyrene (1940-1947), a free exhibition, is on view at The Theatre Courtyard Green Rooms in Shoreditch, one of many celebrations of Londons arts world reopening this summer. The Stars are Bright presents a collection of extraordinary paintings and drawings created by more than forty young Zimbabwean artists over a seven-year period and captures their unique perspectives on the changing world around them. It includes works by Samuel Songo, Kingsley Sambo, Timothy Dhlodhlo and others who went on to become the precursors to Zimbabwean Modern Art. Having been preserved ... More Alva celebrates 30th anniversary by announcing new Chairman and PresidentLONDON.- Baroness Patience Wheatcroft, an ALVA Board member since 2012, will succeed the current Chairman, Lord Lee of Trafford, when he steps down at ALVA's AGM on Friday, September 18, 2020, after 30 years as the organisation's Chairman. Lord (John) Lee, the founder Chairman of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, will be appointed President of ALVA at the AGM, and Baroness Wheatcroft will take over the chairmanship at that point. Patience Wheatcroft is a former trustee and Deputy Chairman of the British Museum, a former Editor of the Sunday Telegraph, a former Editor of The Wall Street Journal Europe, and former Business Editor of The Times. She was appointed to the House of Lords in 2010 as a Conservative peer but since November 2019 she has sat as an unaffiliated peer. Baroness Wheatcroft's maiden speech in the ... More RMB Turbine Art Fair goes online in 2020JOHANNESBURG.- RMB Turbine Art Fair, a unique South African art fair that brings together exhibitors from around the country to present, sell and celebrate art, has gone online this year a first of its kind in South Africa. RMB TAF has become the epicentre of emerging art in South Africa. It presents a space for the showcasing of established and new talent in an environment that is immersive, accessible and inclusive. August 2020 is the 8th edition of RMB Turbine Art Fair with the aim of offering a bigger, bolder and exhilarating fair as we look forward, look back, look in and look out to the rich cultural and creative landscape of South Africa. Due to Covid-19 and lockdown safety precautions across the country, a physical fair is not possible. But a fair is most definitely required to offer support and a platform for galleries and artists alike, says Glynis ... More Movies are returning to theaters. Will audiences follow?HENDERSON, NEV (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- The Regal Sunset Station multiplex in suburban Las Vegas reopened Thursday night after sitting empty for five months in eerie pandemic-forced exile. One of the first people to take a center seat, popcorn and orange soda in hand, was Brian Truitt, who bought tickets to The New Mutants, a Marvel superhero movie, a week in advance. I figured it would be jammed, with pent-up demand to come to the movies again, Truitt, 38, said as he sat back in his reclining seat and tugged at his face mask. He looked around the mostly empty auditorium, with capacity for 172, and shrugged in surprise. I guess not. For the first time since March, big-budget movies are being released again in theaters. The New Mutants cost at least $70 million to make and market. Coming next week is Christopher Nolans Tenet, ... More Paris theatre parts company with British artistic directorPARIS (AFP).- British arts supremo Ruth Mackenzie is to leave her job at the helm of one of the French capital's most important theatres, in a surprise move sources said was due to managerial and financial concerns. The Paris Theatre du Chatelet appointed Mackenzie in 2017, just as the theatre prepared to close for nearly two and a half years for a 26.5-million-euro ($31.5-million) refurbishment. The theatre, which is one of the city's chief venues for classical music, opera dance and also musicals, confirmed her departure in a short statement on Friday. "There was a managerial problem with the staff and a financial problem due to an insufficient artistic season," said a source with knowledge of the issue who asked not to be named. "An independent audit was conducted which has led to her departure. "The (issue) had been brewing for a ... More |
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Flashback On a day like today, French painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres was born August 29, 1780. Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (29 August 1780 - 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassical painter. Although he considered himself to be a painter of history in the tradition of Nicolas Poussin and Jacques-Louis David, by the end of his life it was Ingres's portraits, both painted and drawn, that were recognized as his greatest legacy. In this image: The Envoys of Agamemnon, 1801, oil on canvas, Ãcole des Beaux Arts, Paris.
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