The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Saturday, October 14, 2023



 
Scrolls that survived Vesuvius divulge their first word

In an undated image provided by Vesuvius Challenge, via University of Kentucky, the characters πορφύρα, ancient Greek for “purple,” were extracted from a Herculaneum scroll carbonized by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79. Experts hope that the techniques used to retrieve hidden text on delicate papyrus could lead to the recovery of lost classic works. (Vesuvius Challenge, via University of Kentucky via The New York Times)

by Nicholas Wade


NEW YORK, NY.- From deep within a papyrus scroll that has not been read in almost 2,000 years and would crumble to pieces if unrolled, researchers have retrieved a handful of letters and a single word: “porphyras,” ancient Greek for “purple.” Experts who announced the findings Thursday hope that the techniques used will enable them to electronically reconstruct the full contents of the many Herculaneum scrolls that have been preserved but are too fragile to open. The scrolls were carbonized by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79 that buried Pompeii and deluged Herculaneum with hot gases and volcanic mud. The scrolls, which look like wrinkled lumps of coal, come from a grand villa thought to have been owned by the father-in-law of Julius Caesar. A cache of about 800 scrolls was discovered in 1752 by workers excavating the villa. Scholars who tried to unroll them stopped after finding that their methods destroyed the scrolls while yielding ... More


The Best Photos of the Day
Best Photos of the Day
Justin Caguiat, Dreampop, Modern Art Helmet Row, exhibition view, 10 October - 4 November 2023. Photo: Michael Brzezinski. Courtesy: the artist and Modern Art, London.





Sabiha Al Khemir presents The Samara Series at The Washington Art Association and Gallery   'Lee Miller: Dressed' inspirational new exhibition to open in Brighton   Somerset House announces details of new exhibition CUTE, opening in January 2024


Caress Samara seeds from New Hampshire. 2023. Acrylic on wood panel, 76 x 91.5 cm.

WASHINGTON DEPOT, CONN.- When Tunisian-born Sabiha Al Khemir found herself stranded for months in Spain during the pandemic, she sought out the refuge of her garden which led to her serendipitous discovery of helicopter seeds–samaras blanketing the ground. Intrigued by their elegance, resilience, and innate ability to fly and grow, Al Khemir embarked on an artistic journey that has culminated in her debut exhibition called The Samara Series, which opens with a reception, at The Washington Art Association and Gallery, on October 14th will run through November 12th in Washington Depot, Litchfield County, Connecticut. Al Khemir's technique in The Samara Series combines collage and painting. This meticulous process involves the careful cleaning and varnishing of the seeds she has collected worldwide. Additionally, she incorporates cut pieces of painted paper, ... More
 

Self portrait (with headband), Lee Miller Studios, Inc., New York, USA 1932 by Lee Miller (NYS 12-2-C) © Lee Miller Archives England 2023. All Rights Reserved.

BRIGHTON .- New exhibition documenting life through clothes of Vogue model turned photo-journalist Lee Miller to open at Brighton Museum today. Lee Miller, photographer, surrealist, model, war correspondent, writer, traveller, and cook lived her many lives with passion and audacity. These lives are all reflected in her dress and style. This exhibition will examine Lee Miller’s life and work through fashion and dress, beginning in Paris in the late 1920s and ending in Sussex in the mid-1950s. It includes Miller's outfits which represent key moments in her biography and her creativity. The exhibition includes her Parisian fashion of the 1930s and her fashionable dress worn in New York, jodhpurs, bathing wear and traditional folk dress from travel and adventures in Egypt and Europe with surrealist friends and artists. Her military uniform from her work as ... More
 

Louis Wain, Ginger Cat, 1931. Courtesy of Bethlem Museum of the Mind.

LONDON.- Opening January 2024, Somerset House presents CUTE, a major new landmark exhibition exploring the irresistible force of cuteness in contemporary culture.  From emojis to internet memes, video games to plushie toys, food to loveable robotic design, cuteness has taken over our world. But how has something so charming and seemingly harmless – adorable, doe-eyed animals, chubby-cheeked babies, flowers, hearts, stars, sweets and other such romantic motifs – gained such traction? CUTE brings together contemporary artworks, including several new artist commissions, and cultural phenomena such as music, fashion, toys, video games and social media, in this brand-new show examining the world’s embrace of cute culture and how it has become such an influential measure of our times. It will seek to unravel cuteness’ emotive charge, revealing its extraordinary and complex power and potential.  Present ... More


Tom Cross: Paintings from the artist's studio now on view across two venues   Elusive 1774 autograph by Pennsylvania signer George Taylor sells for $24,079 at auction   Divulging the intimate secrets of artists' lives


Tom Cross, ‘Landscape at Houghton Green’ 1955. Oil on canvas; 73.5 x 99 cms. (detail).

ST. IVES.- On the eve of the 40th anniversary of the publication of the seminal book written by Tom Cross 'Painting the Warmth of the Sun: St Ives Artists 1930 – 1975', and associated 3-part Channel 4 T V programme, it seems an appropriate time to be mounting an exhibition of Cross's own art. The significance of this publication, that re-ignited interest in the group of artists working in and around St Ives in the post-war period, and no doubt helped pave the way to the establishment of the Tate Gallery in St Ives in 1993, illustrates the wide-ranging practice Cross held as an art educator, writer and artist. This exhibition brings together paintings and prints covering the artist's career from his Slade School influenced landscape and Still Life paintings of the 1950s Landscape at Houghton Green through the abstract work of the 1960s Interior of a Room to the experimental work of the 1970s Flat culminating in the mature primarily landscape paintings mostly rooted in his ... More
 

A Johnson & Harbrand Management Account business check, 8.25 x 3.5, filled out in another hand and signed by Robert Greene, The Doors' first business manager and accountant, payable to Jim Morrison for $150, March 22, 1968, endorsed on the reverse in black ballpoint, “Jim Morrison”.

BOSTON, MASS.- An extremely rare George Taylor autographed document, dating back to December 6, 1774, has fetched $24,079 at Auction, according to Boston-based RR Auction. George Taylor, a signer of the Declaration of Independence representing Pennsylvania, was a foreign-born patriot who started life as an indentured servant. His remarkable journey led him to become one of the 56 esteemed Signers of the Declaration of Independence. Taylor's life is emblematic of the many unsung heroes who played a pivotal role in securing America's independence. The autographed document features a receipt penned by Taylor: "Receiv'd 6th December 1774 from Thomas Adamson One Hundred Pounds being the first payment for the Land sold him as of the above ... More
 

Does knowing Marie Laurencin’s sexual orientation, and Robert Smithson’s obsession with red, enrich our understanding of their creations? Yes, and no.

by Arthur Lubow


NEW YORK, NY.- Robert Smithson, the pioneering land artist, repeatedly said that his art was a clear distillation of his essential self, and should be free of any biographical discussions, which he considered residual dross not worth examining. A work of art, he declared, was verifiable and substantial, while the essence of the artist is nebulous. He reveled in issuing gnomic pronouncements, proclaiming “Abstract art is not a self-projection, it is indifferent to the self.” Smithson’s best-known work is “Spiral Jetty,” a 1,500-foot-long 1970 earthwork that juts into a corner of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. It appears as impersonal as an art piece can be. And yet, as Suzaan Boettger persuasively argues in her biography of Smithson, “Inside the Spiral: The Passions of Robert Smithson,” published earlier this year, ... More



Shannon's Fine Art Auctioneers to present a fine art auction on Thursday, October 26   Artistic ideas and inspirations from Los Angeles to Berlin on view in 'Rooms with a View' at Haus Kunst Mitte   Exceptionally rare Bank of England £5 note sells for double its pre-sale estimate


Norman Rockwell: Highlighted artworks include "When Youth is Beautiful" by Norman Rockwell, an exquisite oil on canvas capturing the artist's signature charm and storytelling ability (est. $100,000-$150,000).

MILFORD, CONN..- Shannon's Fine Art Auctioneers, a leading name in the art auction industry, is pleased to announce their upcoming Fine Art Auction on Thursday, October 26 at 6 pm Eastern time. This highly anticipated event will showcase exceptional, fresh-to-the-market artworks offered from numerous private collections, including prized pieces by renowned artists such as Norman Rockwell, Scott Kahn, Frederick Carl Frieseke, Winfred Rembert, Thomas Cole, Alfred T. Bricher, Ernest Lawson and many others. Following the success of their April fine art auction, Shannon's Fine Art Auctioneers continues to provide an unparalleled platform for collectors and art enthusiasts to acquire extraordinary artworks of the highest quality. Bidding for the auction will be open to a wide range of participants, with multiple convenient options available. Interested ... More
 

Anna Haifisch, Ready America (1), 2022. Bleistift-und Tuschezeichnung, Pencil and Ink Drawing. Courtesy of the artist © Anna Haifisch.

BERLIN.- For the first time, the Villa Aurora & Thomas Mann House association presents an exhibition of its art fellows at Haus Kunst Mitte - House for Contemporary Art in Berlin-Mitte: Ali El-Darsa, Silke Fischer, Anna Haifisch, Antje Majewski, Lukas Schilling, Sonya Schönberger, Siska and Clemens von Wedemeyer. The exhibition Rooms with a View brings artistic ideas and inspirations from Los Angeles to Berlin and provides an insight into the projects created by the fellowship holders of Villa Aurora. The eight artists lived in Los Angeles for three months in 2022, developing new artistic approaches and perspectives. Through the works on display in the exhibition, the fellows engage in a dialogue with each other and present their different artistic perspectives on California – from billboard advertising to the Hollywood film industry, from reflections on the Pacific Ocean to the earthquake risk in the metropolis of Los Angeles. At the same ... More
 

Bank of England £5 note that was issued in Leeds sold for a hammer price of £32,000 – more than double its pre-sale estimate of £12,000-£16,000.

An exceptionally rare Bank of England £5 note that was issued in Leeds sold for a hammer price of £32,000 – more than double its pre-sale estimate of £12,000-£16,000 - in a sale of British and Irish Banknotes at Noonans on Thursday, October 12, 2023. Dated July 12, 1900, it was signed by Horace G. Bowen who was Chief Cashier at the Bank of England from 1893 to 1902 [lot 120]. After the sale, Andrew Pattison, Head of Banknote Department at Noonans commented: “Bidding was extremely fierce, with the notes going to two different buyers, both of whom are advanced collectors of English banknotes. There were multiple bidders on each note right to the top, which just shows that interest in rare and unique collectable banknotes is extremely strong.” The sale included several rare Bank of England notes. Also from Leeds is a very rare £5 note signed by Matthew Marshall who was Chief Cashier of the Bank of ... More


Full artist line-up revealed for landmark exhibition 'Crafted Selves'   'Washi Transformed: New Expressions in Japanese Paper' opens at Mingei International Museum   She didn't even have an agent. Her debut is a National Book Award finalist.


Curator Cat Dunn comes face to face with artist Ashanti Harris' artwork Emi Ori Cse in Bronze photo by Neil Hanna.

ST. ANDREWS.- Fife Contemporary has revealed participating artists in the new exhibition touring in Scotland this Autumn and throughout 2024. Crafted Selves: The Unfinished Conversation opens at St Andrews Museum today and runs until 29 February 2024. The exhibition then opens 23 March at Kirkcaldy Galleries and runs until 12 May with plans for further touring later in the year. The 13 Scotland based participating artists include Barbadian-Scottish visual artist Alberta Whittle who recently represented Scotland at the Venice Biennale, Zimbabwean-Scottish artist Sekai Machache who will represent Zimbabwe at the 2024 Venice Biennale, Chinese-Scottish ceramicist Viv Lee, Chinese-Scottish installation artist Rae-Yen Song and Iranian-Scottish visual artist Sara Pakdel-Cherry. A full list of artists is below. Showcasing artworks in contemporary art and craft, Crafted Selves: The Unfinished Conversation takes its title from a continuing discourse between cura ... More
 

Kakuko Ishii, Japanese Paper Strings Musubu R, 2012. Washi paper and pigment. Image
courtesy of the artist, © Kakuko Ishii.


SAN DIEGO, CA.- Mingei International Museum is now commencing the exhibition Washi Transformed: New Expressions in Japanese Paper. For over 1,000 years, Japan has produced some of the world’s finest paper, using strong natural fibers and exceptional production techniques passed down through the generations. Japanese handmade paper, known as washi (和紙) is still made in some areas of Japan and used in painting, calligraphy, origami and other traditional art forms. This exhibition features work by nine contemporary Japanese artists: Hina Aoyama, Eriko Horiki, Kyoko Ibe, Yoshio Ikezaki, Kakuko Ishii, Yuko Kimura, Yuko Nishimura, Takaaki Tanaka and Ayomi Yoshida. Washi Transformed presents over 30 highly textured two-dimensional works, expressive sculptures, and dramatic installations that explore the astonishing potential of this traditional medium. In this exhibition, nine Japanese artists embrace the seemingly ... More
 

Aaliyah Bilal in Cincinnati, Oct. 6, 2023. Her debut, a story collection centered on members of the Nation of Islam, is a finalist for the National Book Award. (Madeleine Hordinski/The New York Times)

NEW YORK, NY.- Aaliyah Bilal didn’t have an agent or any publishing connections to speak of when she sent six stories to Simon & Schuster in 2021, after an open call for submissions. The publisher, impressed, offered her a book deal, and those stories became part of “Temple Folk,” her debut collection, which follows Black American Muslims who were members of the Nation of Islam around the 1970s. Published in July, “Temple Folk” was named a finalist last week for a National Book Award. Bilal, 41, grew up in a working-class Sunni family just outside Washington, D.C., and her grandparents had belonged to the Nation of Islam, a Black nationalist group. Her grandfather once told her that he hadn’t learned Arabic as a member, so couldn’t read the Quran at the time. So why, she asked, had he bothered to join? “His face got really hard, and he said, ‘Don’t you know that white people were killing us and lynching ... More




A Performance by Jason Moran in Honor of Sam Gilliam | Pace Live



More News

Devo's future came true
NEW YORK, NY.- Devo isn’t overjoyed about being prescient. The band got started half a century ago as a satirical art statement. But by now, much of what Devo mocked has become inescapable. Gerald Casale, who founded Devo with Mark Mothersbaugh, said, “If somebody would have told you 50 years ago where we would be at as a culture now, you probably wouldn’t have believed it. Neither would I. But here we are.” Devo’s lone hit, “Whip It” in 1980, only reached No. 14 in the United States. But the influence of Devo’s buzzy, blippy synthesizer tones, its robotic moves and its re-contextualized retro graphics has grown ubiquitous, from commercials to cartoons and perhaps even into K-pop, where synthesizers, uniforms and tightly synced dance routines reign. This year, with a continuing world tour and a new, 50- ... More

'Stereophonic' finds drama in a '70s rock recording booth
NEW YORK, NY.- A decade ago, playwright David Adjmi was listening to music on a flight to Boston when Led Zeppelin’s “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” came on. The tune was familiar — he used to overhear his brother play it in his room — but he really listened to it that day, and became mesmerized by Robert Plant’s scorching vocals. “I was like, ‘God, this must have been so crazy in the studio because it’s so electric and so Dionysian and all over the map, emotionally, and raw,’” Adjmi said. “I saw the studio, I saw the whole thing in my head. Then I started thinking about the theatrical opportunities for setting a play in a studio, and how to play with sound.” That seed of an idea turned into “Stereophonic,” which is now in previews at Playwrights Horizons and is his first New York production since “Marie Antoinette” in 2013. As Adjmi (“Elective Affinities,” “3C”) envisioned on that plane, the acti ... More

'Gutenberg! The Musical!' review: Revenge of the Broadway nerds
NEW YORK, NY.- I know we could all use a good laugh nowadays. But would you settle for a thousand chuckles? Because that’s what “Gutenberg! The Musical!” is offering. In the two-man, 20-character skit of a show that opened Thursday evening on Broadway, the jokes are abundant, interchangeable and lightweight — comedy as packing peanuts. If that suggests an inconsequential payload, well, perhaps consequential was not what the writers, Scott Brown and Anthony King, and the director, Alex Timbers, were after. Silliness crossed with satire seems to be their target, and with the help of two expert farceurs, Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells, they do hit the silliness bull’s-eye. The satire, I’m not so sure. But let’s enjoy what we can. Gad plays Bud Davenport and Rannells is Doug Simon, loserish 40-something co- ... More

'What About Us?': Strikes leave other Hollywood workers reeling
LOS ANGELES, CA.- Katie Reis has been a Hollywood lighting technician for 27 years, rigging equipment for movies like “Independence Day” and TV shows like “Quantum Leap.” But she hasn’t had a paycheck since May, when the first of two strikes — screenwriters, then actors — forced cameras to stop rolling. Reis, 60, has since been turned down for jobs at Target and Whole Foods. She is now looking into seasonal work at the mall. Her son Alex, a high school senior, recently had to go without new shoes for the start of classes. “If I go into Alex’s college fund, I have probably four, five months left,” she said. “But then I have nothing.” The recently settled screenwriters’ strike and the continuing actors’ strike have upended the lives of hundreds of thousands of crew members — the entertainment industry’s equivalent of blue-collar workers — ... More

Laguna Art Museum breaks the rules with exhibition featuring Paul Wonner and Theophilus Brown
LAGUNA BEACH, CA.- Laguna Art Museum to feature Breaking the Rules: Paul Wonner and Theophilus Brown, on view from October 14, 2023 through January 7, 2024. This remarkable showcase pays tribute to the pioneering artists Paul Wonner and Theophilus Brown, renowned for their contributions to Bay Area Figuration. Throughout their artistic journeys, they fearlessly explored new styles and subjects, from captivating landscapes featuring classic bathers to Baroque-inspired still lifes adorned with everyday objects, animals and flowers. Breaking the Rules is an immersive experience with a rich collection of seventy-five paintings, watercolors and drawings, offering an in-depth exploration of these trailblazing artists' exceptional talents. “Although Wonner and Brown significantly contributed to the development of Bay ... More

A Patois revival: Jamaica weighs language change as ties to Britain fray
KINGSTON.- Walk into any government office, courtroom or classroom in Jamaica, and you’ll be expected to speak the official language, English. But venture into the street, tune into a radio talk show or flip through the pages of Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, or step into someone’s home or scroll through the feeds of Jamaican influencers, and another language dominates: the astonishingly vibrant Patois. Long stigmatized with second-class status and often mis-characterized as a poorly structured form of English, Patois has its own distinct grammar and pronunciation. Linguists say Patois — which is also called Patwa, Creole or, simply, Jamaican, is about as different from English as English is from German. It features a dizzying array of words borrowed from African, European and Asian languages. Now, as Jamaica moves ahead with ... More

Morphy Auctions wraps Bobby Knudsen Jr Automobilia & Petroliana series at nearly $10M
DENVER, PA.- There’s likely to be a very long stretch of highway ahead of collectors before they see another gas and oil advertising collection to rival the one amassed by Bobby Knudsen Jr. Heralded far and wide for its ultra-rare, superior-condition gas, oil and soda pop signs, the Knudsen collection added high-octane fuel to an already energized hobby through a series of three no-reserve sales at Morphy’s that commenced in fall 2022. The last of Knudsen’s envy-stirring signs served as the opening-day highlight of Morphy’s September 29-October 1, 2023 sale and pushed the collection’s series grand total to just shy of $10 million. “I can’t believe all three Knudsen sales are now part of history. What a year!” said John Mihovetz, Morphy’s Automobilia & Petroliana department head. “It was such a pleasure to handle Bobby’s collection and guide it every step of the way to its exciting con ... More

Works by women artists and Queer Art takes centre stage in Lyon & Turnbull sale
LONDON.- Lyon & Turnbull’s two autumn London sales - Avant Garde: Art from 1890 to Now (October 26) and Modern Made: (October 27) feature works by important contemporary female artists, including Paula Rego and Susan Hiller, as well as by Queer artists, such as Keith Vaughan and Roy de Maistre, who made works referencing gay life at a time when homosexuality was illegal in the UK. A selection of works from the estate of Anglo-Canadian painter Colette Morey de Morand (1934-2022) document the close personal and artistic friendship she had with the Anglo-Portuguese artist Paula Rego (1935-2022). Whilst they were very different practitioners - Morey de Morand’s work was typically abstract and ethereal whilst Rego’s was resolutely figurative, narrative and corporeal - they had life experience in common (relative newcomers to the UK, children ... More


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Flashback
On a day like today, American fashion designer Ralph Lauren was born
October 14, 1939. Ralph Lauren (born Ralph Lifschitz, October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer and business executive, best known for his Polo Ralph Lauren clothing brand. In this image: Designer Ralph Lauren walks the runway to audience applause after his fall 2010 collection was presented in New York, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010.

  
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