| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net |   | Established in 1996 | Sunday, July 5, 2020 |
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| | Paris Louvre museum reopens Monday after crippling losses | |
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A picture taken on June 23, 2020 shows a man pictured during a press visit, in front of the French Romantic artist Eugene Delacroix' painting the "Liberty Leading the People", at the Louvre in Paris. The Louvre museum will reopen its doors on July 6, 2020, after months of closure due to lockdown measures linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus. The coronavirus crisis has already caused "more than 40 million euros in losses" at the Louvre, announced its president and director Jean-Luc Martinez, who advocates a revival through "cultural democratization" and is preparing a "transformation plan" for the upcoming Olympic Games in 2024. THOMAS SAMSON / AFP.
PARIS (AFP).- The Louvre in Paris, the world's most visited museum and home to the Mona Lisa, reopens on Monday but with coronavirus restrictions in place and parts of the complex closed to visitors. The Louvre has been closed since March 13 and this has already led "to losses of over 40 million euros," its director Jean-Luc Martinez said. Among more than 10 million visitors in 2018, almost three-quarters were tourists. "We have lost 80 percent of our public. Seventy-five percent of our visitors were foreigners," Martinez said. "We will at best see 20 to 30 percent of our numbers recorded last summer -- between 4,000 and 10,000 visitors daily at the most," he said. Visitors will have to wear masks, there will be no snacks or cloakrooms available and the public will have to follow a guided path through the museum. ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day To mark its 20th anniversary, Galerie Priska Pasquer is holding a major exhibition showcasing works by some 35 artists ranging from early 20th-century avant-garde to the present day and giving an overview of the galleryÂs work from its earliest years to the present day.
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 | | New and recent work by Marcel Dzama on view at David Zwirner's gallery in Paris | | France returns skulls of Algerians who fought colonisation | | In Canada, art lovers head to drive-in for safe Van Gogh show | 
Marcel Dzama, A rest on the carpet, 2020 © Marcel Dzama. Courtesy the artist and David Zwirner.
PARIS.- David Zwirner is presenting Blue Moon of Morocco, featuring new and recent work by Marcel Dzama, on view at the gallerys Paris location. The exhibition includes collages and drawings by the artist that were inspired by his travels in Morocco. Travel has become increasingly important in Dzamas art, as he seeks to create works informed by both the distinctive cultures he has immersed himself in and his own subjective experiences. In 2018, invited by Louis Vuitton Editions to create a Travel Book, Dzama traveled to Morocco, visiting cities, seaside towns, mountainous villages, and desert communities. He charted a path that included stops in Tangier, Essaouira, Chefchaouen, Fez, Beni Mellal, Marrakech, and the Agafay Desert. Initially developed while traveling, and then further refined back in the artists studio, these drawings are a testament to the power of Dzamas immediate experiences and the added perspec ... More | | 
An boy stands in front of the national flag-draped coffins containing the remains of 24 Algerian resistance fighters decapitated during the French colonial conquest of the North African country. RYAD KRAMDI / AFP.
by Abdellah Cheballah with Philippe Agret in Tunis
ALGIERS (AFP).- Algeria on Friday received the skulls of 24 resistance fighters decapitated during France's colonial occupation of the North African country, and which had been stored for decades in a Paris museum. The return of the remains comes amid a global reexamination of the legacy of colonialism since the May killing of 46-year-old African American George Floyd by a white police officer sparked mass protests. UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has urged countries to make amends for "centuries of violence and discrimination". The skulls, once viewed as war trophies by French colonial officers, were flown into Algiers airport on a Hercules C-130 transport plane, escorted on arrival by Algerian fighter jets. To a 21-gun salute, President Abdelmadjid ... More | | 
Jenny Li watches from her car during a drive-in immersive Vincent Van Gogh art exhibit in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on July 3, 2020. Cole BURSTON / AFP.
by Olivier Monnier
TORONTO (AFP).- While some museums have had to cancel or postpone long-planned exhibits because of the coronavirus, organizers of a Van Gogh show in Toronto had a novel idea: offering art lovers a drive-in option. "Of course, because of COVID, we had to think creatively," said Corey Ross, a co-producer of the exhibit, which was initially slated to start in May and was delayed by the pandemic. As Canada's largest city gradually comes out of lockdown, the exhibit began this week with two viewing areas in a huge Toronto warehouse: one area with social distancing circles on the ground for those who prefer taking in their art on foot, and another for people in cars that drive right into the building. Viewing art from inside a car provides a safe experience for people who are physically fragile, ... More |
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| | Unseen collection of European Avant-Garde art to make auction debut | | New book offers a journey through Vincent van Gogh's favourite authors and illustrators | | Duchess Goldblatt is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside a Twitter account | 
Fernand Léger, Nature morte, 1914, oil on burlap (est. £8,000,000 12,000,000) Unseen since 1984. Courtesy Sotheby's.
LONDON.- The first decades of the twentieth century would change the course of art history for ever. This treasure-trove from a private collection little known and rarely seen spans the remarkable period, telling its story through the leading protagonists, from Fernand Léger, Pablo Picasso and Alberto Giacometti to Wassily Kandinsky, Lyonel Feininger and Alexej von Jawlensky. Travelling across the continent, the works emphasise the crosscurrents and connections that united Europe, from France to Germany to Britain. Viewed together, dialogues emerge about the human form and experience, and the balance between figuration and abstraction. Eighteen works will be offered in the cross-category Evening Sale on 28 July, in which exceptional examples of Old Masters including one of the last self-portraits by Rembrandt in private hands Impressionist and Modern art, Modern British and Contemporary art will be presented together for the first time. A further twenty- ... More | | 
Vincents Books: Van Gogh and the Writers Who Inspired Him by Mariella Guzzoni. Publication: 2 July 2020 £19.95 hardback.
LONDON.- Vincent van Gogh (18531890) was famously driven by his passion for God, for art and for books. Vincents life with books is explored here chapter by chapter, from his early adulthood, when he considered becoming a pastor, to his decision to be a painter, to the end of his life. He moved from Holland to Paris to Provence; at each moment, ideas and images he encountered in books defined and guided his thoughts, his life and his art. Author Mariella Guzzoni has drawn extensively on Van Goghs letters, the most treasured correspondence in the world of art: Vincents letters to his brother refer to at least 200 authors. Vincent not only read fiction, he also knew many works of art from detailed descriptions and illustrations in monographs, biographies and museum guides. Always keeping up to date, he never missed the latest literary and artistic magazines. Books and readers whether dreaming or deeply absorbed are frequent subjects ... More | | 
Frans Halss Portrait of an Elderly Lady, the painting that became Duchess Goldblatts Twitter avatar. National Gallery of Art via The New York Times.
by Kate Dwyer
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- The painting of a 17th-century Dutch aristocrat hangs in the west wing of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. She wears a ruff collar, lace cuffs and a velvet-trimmed brocade jacket with puffed sleeves the height of Calvinist chic. Painted by Frans Hals in 1633, the subjects name has been lost to history; the piece is called Portrait of an Elderly Lady. But on Twitter, this portrait is the avatar that represents Duchess Goldblatt, the fictional author of nonexistent bestsellers like An Axe to Grind, Feasting on the Carcasses of My Enemies: A Love Story and Not If I Kill You First, a tale of motherhood. Her audience of more than 25,000 followers includes many good-humored literary types, including acclaimed authors Elizabeth McCracken, Celeste Ng, Alexander Chee and Laura Lippman. Duchess Goldblatt ... More |
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| | UK film pioneer Earl Cameron dies aged 102 | | The exhibition 18th century - Sweden and Europe opens at Nationalmuseum Jamtli | | UK historian quits Cambridge over slavery claim | 
The Bermuda-born Cameron appeared in the 1951 hit "Pool of London", notable for being Britain's first major film to feature an interracial relationship.
LONDON (AFP).- Earl Cameron, who broke down racial barriers by becoming one of British film's first black stars in the 1950s, has died at the age of 102, his family said Saturday The Bermuda-born Cameron appeared in the 1951 hit "Pool of London", notable for being Britain's first major film to feature an interracial relationship. He had a minor role in the 1965 James Bond film "Thunderball" and appeared in Sidney Poitier's 1973 movie "A Warm December". While Cameron remained relatively unknown outside Britain, his death prompted a string of tributes from actors and politicians. The Guardian newspaper called him "Britain's first black film star". David Burt, the premier of Bermuda, said the entire Caribbean island nation was "celebrating his long and remarkable life". Cameron, who arrived in Britain in 1939 and started out as a stage actor in London's West End, said in 2017 that he never saw himself as a pioneer. ... More | | 
Nicolas de Largillière, The Field Marshall Erik Sparre (1665-1726), 1713. Oil on canvas. Photo: Nationalmuseum.
ÃSTERSUND.- The new exhibition at Nationalmuseum Jamtli focuses on the relations between Sweden and Europe during the 18th century in the field of visual arts and applied arts. A palace building, a theatre king and skilled diplomats were all vital ingredients in the flourishing cultural life of the 18th century. The exhibition tells about the artists who brought the Rococo style to Sweden, and those who left the country for brilliant careers at the royal courts on the continent. The exhibition takes you through a century not only marked by wars and severe hardships, but also of optimism for the future, utilitarian thinking, and a belief in science where art was closely related to politics and diplomacy. New ideas and artists came to Sweden from France to participate in the construction of the new Royal Palace of Stockholm at the beginning of the century. The exhibition also looks more closely at the direct impact Gust ... More | | 
In this file photo taken on October 23, 2007 British historian Dr David Starkey poses after receiving his Commander of the British Empire (CBE) from Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in London. FIONA HANSON / POOL / AFP.
by Dmitry Zaks
LONDON (AFP).- A British royal historian who said slavery was not genocide has quit his honorary position at Cambridge University and been dropped by his published HarperCollins. The comments from Professor David Starkey came during a period of soul searching in Britain over its colonial past. The Black Lives Matter movement that gained momentum after the death of George Floyd in US police custody in May saw the statue of a major slave trader dumped in an English harbour as protests hit cities across the UK. Starkey is an expert on Britain's Tudor period -- a time in the 1500s when the slave trade was growing as European colonies across the Caribbean and the Americas expanded. He said in a June 30 online interview with the right-wing ... More |
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| | Custodians for Covid: Photography prints sold to support London theatres | | From the photographic act to the possibilities of presentation: The fundamental conditions of photography in new book | | Democracy books disappear from Hong Kong libraries | 
Charlie Jones, Building Services Manager, the Royal Albert Hall. London, June 2020 (detail) © Joanna Vestey.
LONDON.- Oxford-based photographer Joanna Vestey and collaborator Tara Rowse have set up a bold fundraising initiative, Custodians for Covid, to raise funds for threatened arts institutions. Its first edition focuses on raising money for theatres currently in crisis due to the Covid-imposed lockdown. This includes world renowned theatres such as the National Theatre, the Roundhouse and the Young Vic. Vestey has produced a collection of 20 photographs, each featuring an affected London theatre, portraying the custodian who is charged with its care during this time of crisis. The photographs are being sold in limited editions to raise funds for each theatre. The target is to raise £1million in charitable donations for the 20 London theatres, amounting to £50,000 per theatre. Each image in the series features an iconic theatre space in which Vestey has highlighted a custodian. The custodians presence brings ... More | | 
Timm Rautert: Bildanalytische Photographie 19681974.
NEW YORK, NY.- What is this, photography, and how does it relate to reality? What possibilities does it create for grasping and understanding the world and where does it reach its limits as a technique and as a form of artistic expression, where does it affront us? Where does it manipulate and where does it penetrate, on the contrary, to the core of things? These are the questions Timm Rautert asked himself in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They have the same urgency today as they did then. The result of his undertakings is the Bildanalytische Photographie / Image-Analytical Photography 1968 - 1974, which highlights the fundamental conditions of photographic workfrom the photographic act and the development of photographic images under an enlarger in the lab to the various possibilities of presentation. A systematically elaborated ensemble of analogue black-and-white and color photographs, of image-text compilations, and of manuals and phot ... More | | 
Political science books are displayed on a shelf in a public library in Hong Kong on July 4, 2020. ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP.
HONG KONG (AFP).- Books written by prominent Hong Kong democracy activists have started to disappear from the city's libraries, online records show, days after Beijing imposed a draconian national security law on the finance hub. Among the authors whose titles are no longer available are Joshua Wong, one of the city's most prominent young activists, and Tanya Chan, a well known pro-democracy lawmaker. Beijing's new national security law was imposed on Tuesday and is the most radical shift in how the semi-autonomous city is run since it was handed back to China by Britain in 1997. China's authoritarian leaders say the powers will restore stability after a year of pro-democracy protests, will not stifle freedoms and will only target a "very small minority". But it has already sent fear coursing through a city used to speaking openly, with police arresting people for possessing slogans pushing independence or ... More |
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Rolex, Philippe Dufour, Jaquet Droz and Other Exceptional Watches
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 House of Spirits sign saved from vandalism for future generations of Echo Park residentsECHO PARK, CA.- This week the Museum of Neon Art began removing the House of Spirits signage and transporting it to our facilities for safekeeping and repair. The need to work quickly became clear after theft of portions of the House of Spirits sign and escalating threats to the sign, which is attached to a building that was irreparably damaged by fire in December 2018. The sign was donated to the Museum by the Telis family, who have owned the store since the 1970s, in order to preserve this iconic landmark. However the Museum intends to return the sign to its neighborhood as soon as a suitable new home can be found for it. Our father Sam Telis came from New York to start a new life in Los Angeles in the 1950's. He was a self taught entrepreneur and man of the people. A perfect combination to own and run the House of Spirits Liquor Store in Echo ... More Marc Fumaroli, defender of French culture, is dead at 88PARIS (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Marc Fumaroli, a leading French historian, public intellectual and defender of the French language and culture against American influence and what he called globish English, died on June 24 in Paris. He was 88. His death was announced by the Académie Française, the official council of guardians of the French language, and the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, a learned society devoted to the humanities. Fumaroli was a member of both. As a historian, Fumaroli specialized in 17th-century France during the reigns of Louis XIII and Louis XIV, with an emphasis on rhetoric and literature from that period. He was the author of about 30 books. He was one of our greatest narrators of the past, as well as a fervent apostle of our cultural heritage, the Ãlysée Palace said in statement after his death. He was promoted ... More Art reopens King's Cross: Andy Leek lands 3 month artistic residency to welcome back visitorsLONDON.- To celebrate the reawakening of London, and the reopening of retail, dining and cultural businesses, Kings Cross has partnered with renowned street artist Andy Leek to deliver a summer of public art that will bring positivity and fun to the 67-acre estate. Andy Leek has been given the entire Kings Cross estate to use as his canvas during a three-month residency. He will be creating an evolving series of public artworks which spread optimism and fun and capture the public mood as the nation emerges from lockdown. Widely recognised for Notes To Strangers his hand-written notes which appear across London to deliver unexpected and uplifting messages to passers-by Andy is going to create new artworks which bring joy to Londoners and visitors, and encourage exploration. Andy commented As my residency unfolds, I plan to install ... More Shortlist announced for 2020 Film London Jarman AwardLONDON.- The shortlist for this years Film London Jarman Award has been announced. The prestigious £10,000 prize money celebrates the pioneering work of the UKs foremost artist filmmakers. The artists selected for shortlist this year are: Michelle Williams Gamaker Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings Jenn Nkiru Project Art Works Larissa Sansour Andrea Luka Zimmerman The shortlisted artists work includes a two-channel Arabic language science-fiction film shot in black and white and a Jarmanesque exploration of gender set in an Art Deco Blackpool cabaret. Feature-length films tell the stories of Londons marginalised underworld characters whilst mesmerising collages combine archival analogue film stock with digital media to explore the history of Black techno music. Innovative collaborative films reveal the experience ... More Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac opens Marc Brandenburg's exhibition Snowflake PARIS.- In the context of global protest movements, notably Black Lives Matter, Marc Brandenburgs exhibition Snowflake addresses political and relational issues such as gender and ethnic differences, while embracing the urgent need for a radical change. Through his most recent series of drawings, he explores the conditions of life at the fringes of society. The topics Im dealing with now, Ive been dealing with for the last 30 years. It might seem like the zeitgeist but shit has just been going backwards for way too long. Thats all. Enough! Marc Brandenburg The German and Afro-American artist has devoted himself to precisely those conditions that are increasingly becoming the object of hate and ridicule in our society, especially in the context of the events of recent months: the sensitive, the endangered, the traumatised, the lack of resistance, ... More Movie posters never seen or sold, from Frankenstein to Sunrise, star in Heritage Auctions' July 25-26 eventDALLAS, TX.- Twenty years and almost 400,000 movie posters later, Heritage Auctions' Grey Smith thought he'd seen and sold them all. Then it came time to compile the almost 700 lots for the July 25-26 Movie Posters event. And there they were: the rarities once thought lost or out of reach, some of movie-poster collecting's crowning achievements. The never-before-seens. The never-before-solds. "This job is exciting every day," said Smith, Heritage's Director of Vintage Posters. "When a new rarity comes in, it's thrilling. That's what makes this such a wonderful hobby. Anyone who says they've seen it all in movie posters isn't telling you the truth. There is always material out there that's exciting." That's especially true in the July sale, which offers among its many gems these astonishing finds: The gorgeous one-sheet for Sunrise, director F.W. Murnau's first ... More Exhibition features selected works from 20 years of Galerie Priska PasquerCOLOGNE.- To mark its 20th anniversary, Galerie Priska Pasquer is holding a major exhibition showcasing works by some 35 artists ranging from early 20th-century avant-garde to the present day and giving an overview of the gallerys work from its earliest years to the present day. Our duty is to experiment! This was the rallying cry with which Alexander Rodchenko revolutionised photography in 1924. One hundred years later, it is more relevant than ever: never has it been so necessary for us to change our way of thinking as it is today. In its anniversary event, Priska Pasquer is showcasing one of the Russian constructivists rarest photograms. Rodchenkos masterpiece Photogram (Stars) from 1938 is the symbolic centrepiece of the exhibition, which not only serves as a retrospective of the gallerys work to date but also presents forward-looking ... More Rudolfo Anaya, a father of Chicano literature, dies at 82NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Rudolfo Anaya, a writer whose trailblazing explorations of the folkways of the Southwest helped define the Latino experience in the United States, died Sunday at his home in Albuquerque. He was 82. His niece Belinda Henry said his death followed a long illness. Anaya burst onto the American literary scene in 1972 with his novel Bless Me, Ultima, about a Chicano boy growing up just after World War II in the llano, or plains, of hardscrabble eastern New Mexico. Published when Chicano scholars and activists were questioning Anglo dominance of the Southwest, the book describes the guidance provided by Ultima, an elderly healer who uses herbal remedies and other Native American traditions incorporated over centuries into New Mexicos Hispanic culture. A major theme in the book is the tension between Roman ... More 'Liberty Bell' tolls for sites where history is alive and kickingNEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Little did she know. Back in the spring of 2019, when Los Angeles artist and curator Nancy Baker Cahill entered into discussions with Art Production Fund about a public art project to be unveiled on July 4, 2020, her vision was still modest. She wanted to create a piece conceptualized around Philadelphias Liberty Bell that quintessential American symbol of independence. The piece, Liberty Bell, a special 3D animation of an enormous abstraction shaped like a swaying bell, was planned for Philadelphia. But Baker Cahills chosen medium is the ultralightweight, fast-advancing technology known as augmented reality, and she was used to being ambitious with it. In 2018, she helped curate Defining Line, a show of AR artworks along the Los Angeles River that tackled issues including the environment ... More New site-specific work by Lita Albuquerque on view at The HuntingtonSAN MARINO, CA.- A new site-specific artwork by Lita Albuquerque, Red Earth, greets visitors at The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens as garden areas reopen after a closure of more than three months as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally scheduled to go on view in March, the temporary installation centers around a boulder capped with bright red pigment placed among towering bamboo in a grove of the Japanese Garden. It is exclusive to this particular time and place and is a stand-in for what I am hoping the visitor to feel, a sense of calm in the midst of chaos, Albuquerque said. Red Earth, which closes Nov. 2, was commissioned as a part of The Huntingtons Centennial Celebration. The work features an approximately three-ton slab of rock surrounded by bamboo stalks that are affixed with copper bands that glint under ... More Magnum Photos announces new nominees, associates and life-long membersLONDON.- Magnums Annual General Meeting closed this weekend, following four days of online events and internal discussion about the year ahead. The AGM is Magnums official opportunity to unite its community of photographers, estates and international staff to discuss company business and vote on potential new members, associates and nominees. Due to the pandemic this years AGM took place online, alongside a public events program which included the presentation of Magnum Flow, a new digital project launched during lockdown to present contemporary work in near real-time, and a conversation on the colonial archive between Mark Sealy, Mikhael Subotzky and Sim Chi Yin. The assembly welcomed Caitlin Hughes, Magnums new CEO, who joined the organisation to further strengthen the fundamentals of the business as well as to advance ... More |
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Flashback On a day like today, American-Italian painter Cy Twombly died July 05, 2011. Edwin Parker "Cy" Twombly Jr. (April 25, 1928 - July 5, 2011) was an American painter, sculptor and photographer. He belonged to the generation of Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. In this image: Cy Twombly, (American, 1928 2011), Anabasis (Bronze), 2011. Bronze, 46 1/16 x 19 1/8 x 19 5/16 inches, Base (pedestal): 39 Ã 26 1/4 Ã 26 inches. © Cy Twombly Foundation.
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