| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net |   | Established in 1996 | Thursday, December 31, 2020 |
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| | Let there be light, and art, in the Moynihan Train Hall | |
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An image from Stan Douglass photo-panel series, Penn Stations Half Century, inside the Moynihan Train Hall in New York, Dec. 27, 2020. A wartime goodbye was staged in a hockey arena in Vancouver and stitched with digitally recreated interiors of the demolished station, based on vintage photographs. Andrew Moore/The New York Times.
by Dionne Searcey
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Sunlight is not typically associated with the dingy basement vibe that envelops commuters passing through Penn Station. But natural light spills across the new Moynihan Train Hall through its massive, 92-foot-high skylight ceiling and illuminates another surprise: permanent installations by some of the most celebrated artists in the world. Kehinde Wiley, Stan Douglas and artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset have major pieces prominently displayed in the new $1.6 billion train hall set to open Friday, offering an expansion of Penn Stations concourse space and serving customers of Amtrak and Long Island Rail Road. The hall, designed by architecture firm SOM, also connects to subway lines, although they are some distance away. The 255,000-square-foot train hall is inside the James A. Farley postal building, the grandiose beaux-arts structure designed by McKim Mead & White in 1912, two years after the original Pennsylvania Station. (New Yorkers may know ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day Royal Collection Trust staff recently spent over 40 hours changing clocks across the official residences of Her Majesty The Queen. A team of Horological Conservators worked to adjust the clocks, including 450 timepieces at Windsor Castle, 600 at Buckingham Palace and 50 at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The Royal Collection contains some of the finest historic clocks in existence, many of which are on display to visitors at Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
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| Artist and educator Roland Reiss dies at age 91 | | Treasured watercolours collected by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to go on display in Edinburgh | | Art Studio No7: The new online gallery for rising artists and experimental art | 
Roland Reiss, Human Nature, 2012, Oil, acrylic, and vinyl on canvas.
LOS ANGELES, CA.- We are saddened to announce the death of Roland Reiss, artist and educator, loving husband, father, and grandfather, who passed away on Sunday, December 13, of natural causes in Los Angeles, at his home and studio at The Brewery Artist Lofts. He was 91. Reiss is widely known for his miniatures but is foremost a painter. An influential and beloved voice in the Los Angeles and Southern California art scene, Reiss exhibited widely throughout his sixty-year career. He was included in the 1975 Whitney Biennial, documenta 7 (1982), and received fourteen solo museum exhibitions, including The Dancing Lessons: 12 Sculptures (1977) at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. A retrospective at the Begovich Gallery at Cal State Fullerton (2014) highlighted his career of continual self-reinvention, which led to a groundbreaking body of work. It was a privilege to work with Roland in recent ... More | | 
Queen Victoria, Arthur, 7 May 1853. Royal Collection Trust/ © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2020.
EDINBURGH.- Watercolours collected by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, an evocative record of their public and private lives together, will go on display at The Queens Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse in 2021. Throughout their marriage Victoria and Albert were passionate patrons of watercolour painting, and formed a collection of thousands of works. Victoria & Albert: Our Lives in Watercolour will feature 80 of their treasured watercolours, including several by Scottish artists, some of which will be on display in Scotland for the first time. The watercolours the Queen and her consort acquired together captured moments of significance, from the christenings and birthday parties of the royal children to glittering court balls, views of the cities and landscapes they saw on their travels at home and abroad, and records of the places they lived, such as Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace and Balmoral Castle. ... More | | 
Marie Demiz, Giorgia Massari, and Martina Stagi.
MILAN.- The artist Marie Demiz recently developed and launched the new Art Studio No7, a new online art gallery that resulted from a community of new rising artists, a project aimed to get to know the artists and their work in a way that is more personal and closer, rather than a typical and traditional big financial art gallery. The project involves the participation of artists based in different places of the world, going from Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Greece, Bahrain to the Netherlands. This group of artists express different techniques and themes with various subjects. The art approach of the current selected artists can go from strong individuals to nature, using different art methodologies from the abstract to more experimental techniques and materials. The platform was created by artists to other artists that can connect. With the mission to make the world a better place, and by helping new artists reach the market with affordable art. In this gallery, the more interested, ca ... More |
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| Dawn Wells, who gave 'Gilligan's Island' spunky charm as Mary Ann, dies at 82 | | The Centre Pompidou acquires Katsumi Nakai's Untitled, 1971 | | World Monuments Fund urges protection of iconic Louis Kahn campus | 
In this file photo taken on April 11, 2015 US actress Dawn Wells poses at the 2015 TV Land Awards at the Saban Theatre in Los Angeles. Chris DELMAS / AFP.
by Anita Gates
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Dawn Wells, the actress who radiated all-American wholesomeness, Midwestern practicality and a youthful naive charm as the character Mary Ann on the hit 1960s sitcom Gilligans Island, died Wednesday in a nursing home in Los Angeles. She was 82. Her publicist, Harlan Boll, said the cause was related to COVID-19. Debuting on CBS in 1964, Gilligans Island followed an unlikely septet of day trippers (on a three-hour tour, as the theme song explained) who ended up stranded on a desert island. There, shipwrecked alongside a movie star (who spent most of her time in evening gowns), a science professor, a pompous, older rich couple, and two wacky crew members was Mary Ann Summers (Wells), a farm girl ... More | | 
Katsumi Nakai, Untitled, 1971, wooden construction, acrylic paint on wood, 160 x 120 cm.
LONDON.- Ronchini announced that the Centre Pompidou in Paris has recently added Untitled, 1971 by Katsumi Nakai to their permanent collection. Nakai, whose work has recently garnered greater critical attention, acts as a bridge between European and Japanese postwar art. The acquisition was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Japanese Friends of the Centre Pompidou. Since 2018, Ronchini represents the Estate of Katsumi Nakai. The Gallery has worked closely with the artists daughter to re-introduce Nakais oeuvre to a new generation of artists and collectors. We are delighted that Untitled has now entered the collection of the Centre Pompidou. The leading French cultural venue is the first institution in Europe to acquire a work by Nakai, setting an important precedent for the re-contextualisation of the Japanese artists work within leading art historical discourses of the 20th century. ... More | | 
Built between 1968 and 1978, this exemplary grouping of modernist buildings represents a vision for higher learning rooted in enriched student and faculty interactions, while reflecting progressive concepts of sound planning and sustainable use of resources.
NEW YORK, NY.- World Monuments Fund called for the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) to reevaluate the partial demolition of the visionary building complex designed by architect Louis Kahn. This is in response to plans by IIM-A to dismantle 14 of 18 buildings within the historic campus and replace them with newly constructed dormitories. World Monuments Funds depth of experience helping hundreds of global heritage places adapt to contemporary challenges demonstrates that thoughtful conservation can meet contemporary needs, said Bénédicte de Montlaur, President and Chief Executive Officer of World Monuments Fund. We stand ready to lend our expertise in finding a solution that protects the Kahn campus so that future generations ... More |
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| Wonder Woman and her evolving look | | How cities around the world will say goodbye, at long last, to 2020 | | Howard J. Rubenstein, public relations impresario, dies at 88 | 
Wonder Womans costume has morphed over the years, as showcased in a cover for Wonder Woman No. 750, drawn by Nicola Scott. Nicola Scott/DC via The New York Times.
by George Gene Gustines
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- In a trailer for Wonder Woman 1984, the title hero is clad in golden armor. That image had fans pulses racing because in comic books, the metallic suit is what the hero dons for major battles. Wonder Woman, who was introduced in 1941, is part of DCs Holy Trinity of heroes that includes Superman, who debuted in 1938, and Batman, who premiered in 1939. Like the outfits of her fellow heroes, Wonder Womans costume has evolved over time and even occasionally received a complete makeover. Here are some notable looks from the Amazing Amazon over the years. The very first image of Wonder Woman (who debuted in All-Star Comics before starring in Sensation and then her self-titled series) shows her in her original costume, with a golden eagle emblem on her chest and a flowing, star-spangled skirt. Diana as Wonder Woman is known on Paradise Island, the home of her Amazon sisters takes part in a competition to return ... More | | 
Police officers near a stage set up for New Years Eve at Times Square in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times.
by Jenny Gross
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- In most cities this New Years Eve, there will be no roaring crowds, no gatherings for fireworks shows and, lets hope, no strangers kissing at midnight. But, after a year punctuated by disease, unemployment and racial unrest, people around the world, in different circumstances than usual, will still raise a glass and toast the start of 2021. Even in countries where coronavirus cases are low, like Australia, local governments have gone back and forth, making plans and then canceling them again, as they try to balance keeping people safe with allowing them to let loose after a difficult year. In Sydney, authorities tightened restrictions in recent days after an increase in locally transmitted cases. Parties of up to 10 guests are allowed in parts of the city, but residents are being encouraged to watch the seven-minute fireworks show over the Sydney Harbor Bridge on TV. A viewing party for frontline workers was canceled. The fireworks display over Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong ... More | | 
Howard Rubenstein in his office in New York on July 10, 1995. Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times.
by Robert D. McFadden
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Howard J. Rubenstein, who softened lifes blows and polished the tarnished images of the rich, the famous and the flawed for more than 65 years in becoming New Yorks preeminent public relations impresario, died on Tuesday at his home in Manhattan. He was 88. A spokeswoman, Nancy Haberman, confirmed the death. No cause was given. In a profession often regarded with skepticism, Rubenstein, the founding chairman and president of Rubenstein Associates, was sometimes called a spin doctor, a charlatan or worse. But with a little help from his friends in the news media, he publicized the triumphs of many achievers, and when crises struck celebrities, politicians, corporations or cultural institutions, he was a fixer of choice, called in at a moments notice to control the damage and restore reputations. His hundreds of clients were among the best-known names in town: Donald Trump, Rupert Murdoch, the late New York Yankees owner George M. Steinbrenner III, Columbia University, ... More |
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| New Year's saving grace for Vienna's silenced music scene | | Kehrer Verlag publishes Brian Kaplan's photography book about the melancholic beauty of Cape Cod | | Network of Contemporary Culture Museums of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports opens first project | 
In this file photo taken on January 01, 2018 Italian Maestro Riccardo Muti (C) conducts the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra during the traditional New Year's concert in Vienna, Austria. HANS PUNZ / APA / AFP.
by Anne Beade
VIENNA (AFP).- While a virus-laden silence has descended over what is normally a busy period of concerts and balls in the Austrian capital Vienna, the city's world famous New Year Concert is at least providing one saving grace -- albeit to an empty hall. The city's concert halls were among the first in Europe to re-open in June, in the wake of the first wave lockdown, as Vienna tried to preserve its reputation as one of the world's preeminent centres of classical music. But as the virus took hold again in the autumn, fresh restrictions soon followed. Music venues again had to close in November, in a city that normally boasts some 15,000 concerts and musical events annually. But one show will go on, no doubt charged with more symbolism this year. "If we cancel the New Year's ... More | | 
Brian Kaplan, Im Not On Your Vacation: Greetings from Cape Cod.
NEW YORK, NY.- For most people, Cape Cod is about summer vacations by the sea. Sun-drenched days at the beach, splashing in the ocean, and just being lazy. Overindulging on oysters, fried clams, and ice cream. Sipping cold beer and cocktails while the sun sets. Im much more interested in the »other side« of life on the Cape. There are the seasonal workers: thousands of people who flock to the Cape every summer, not to play but to work. They come from Jamaica and eastern Europe students from Russia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, and Moldova. They work the deep-fryers and make sandwiches in the kitchens. They scrub the floors and toilets in the motels and rental cottages. Many work two or three jobs at a time, earning more money in a week than they could in a month back home. There are the locals and the transplants peculiar characters who are drawn to live, year-round,in an »end-of-the-road« place like the outermost Cape. And, then theres the long »offseason. « In July and Aug ... More | | 
Nikos Tranos, A Glacier at Our Table, 2013. Glazed clay, wooden table, 230 x 180 x 100 cm. EMST collections. Donated by the artist, 2017. EMST collection.
ATHENS.- The Network of Contemporary Culture Museums of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports introduces itself with its first official project, the digital exhibition under the title "Visualizing humanity", which is now available on the platform res.momus.gr. The exhibition hosts over 100 works of art by 62 artists from the permanent collections of the organizations participating in the Network -the National Gallery-Alexandros Soutsos Museum (EPMAS), the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (EMST) and the Metropolitan Organisation of Museums of Visual Arts of Thessaloniki (MOMus)- and is co-organized and curated by the art historians of all three collaborating institutions. This project attempts to capture not only the global humanitarian and financial crisis that humanity has to face in the Covid-19 era, but also further unprecedented challenges related to growing economic inequalities, u ... More |
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| More News |
 11th edition of Circulation(s) festival will take place from March 6 to May 2, 2021PARIS.- Circulation(s) is the festival dedicated to emerging photography in Europe. Each year, at the Centquatre-Paris and satellite sites in France and abroad, it reveals the vitality of young creation and speaks for the diversity of photographic expressions through unique exhibitions and events. A stepping stone for artists, a prospective and innovative laboratory of contemporary creativity, Circulation(s) is a must-attend photography event and a trend revelator. Since its inception in 2011, the festival has exhibited over 400 artists and attracted over 300,000 visitors with an ever-growing aspiration to be an approachable event of high standards. Based on the values of education and transmission around the image, Circulation(s) is also a place for events and confluence that contrast the views and question the boundaries between photography ... More  valerie_traan gallery presents an exhibition of works by Babs Decruyenaere ANTWERP.- Rain or shine, Babs goes on long walks - at times to inhospitable places where she picks up tiny objects. She observes, selects and hand-picks all sorts of rejects which she consummately makes her own. To pick up a trinket is to accept and appropriate it, take it to your heart and intensely cherish it, for it fills a particular inner need. Going walking - this modern-day hunter-gatherers quest - is always a momentous occasion. Their morphology, structure and texture make stones into the archive and library of the origin of earthly life. Each time Babs places a stone in the palm of her hand and clasps it between index and little flinger, she makes up a warm bed for it and embarks on her own story. The hand is the unit of measure: when it fits in one hand, you can keep it. At times, its as if the artists soul has nestled in the palm ... More  For his second act, Nnamdi Asomugha made preparation his bywordNEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- The lead in a romance may seem like a prize for most actors, but the star of the new drama Sylvies Love had reservations. There was no way that I was going to do a romantic film until I read the script and saw that there were Black people falling in love in the 50s and 60s, Nnamdi Asomugha, 39, said. And then immediately I was like, OK, I think people need to see this film. Sylvies Love, which made its Amazon premiere on Dec. 23, is set largely in midcentury New York and explores the ebbs and flows of the relationship between Robert (Asomugha), a charismatic jazz saxophonist, and Sylvie (Tessa Thompson), a determined television producer. Asomugha is considered a rising star in Hollywood: In 2017, his breakout performance in the drama Crown Heights earned Indie Spirit and NAACP Image ... More  A global New Year's playlist for your party of oneNEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Around the world, New Years Eve is going to look very different this year, but the applause and cheers at midnight might have a level of catharsis not seen for awhile. People will certainly be celebrating 2020s passing. And these celebrations, whether with a small group of friends, household members only or solo, need a soundtrack. Even with so much put on hold, musicians still managed to put out music this year. This playlist draws from releases all over the world, demonstrating how a guitar-rock band from Mali, a dream-pop singer from South Korea, a reggae legend from Jamaica and more all managed to express little moments of joy in a universally difficult time. You will find beats to dance to, new genres to fall in love with and, hopefully, connections with different cultures that will make you feel a little ... More  Managing movie superheroes is about to get a lot more complicatedLOS ANGELES (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Walter Hamada is not a typical superhero wrangler. He doesnt have a booming, fanboy-in-chief personality. His modest home office, at least as it appears on Zoom, is light on the usual cape-and-cowl collectibles. Hollywood was not even his first calling: He set out to be a mechanical engineer. As the president of DC Films, however, Hamada, 52, manages the movie careers of Wonder Woman, Batman, Cyborg, the Flash, Superman and every other DC Comics superhero. And the new course he has charted for them is dizzying. The most expensive DC movies (up to four a year, starting in 2022) are designed for release in theaters, Hamada said. Additional superhero films (two annually is the goal, perhaps focused on riskier characters like Batgirl and Static Shock) will arrive exclusively on HBO Max, the fledgling ... More  Part of the world a stage with Miami poignant pandemic performanceMIAMI (AFP).- When the coronavirus pandemic began, theater director Michel Hausmann sought to devise a safe and effective way of performing. Nine months later, he and his theater company have done it by making the world a stage -- at least part of it -- providing catharsis to performers and the public alike. The play "7 Deadly Sins" has opened in Miami Beach, outdoors and with empty storefronts as a stage. It consists of seven 10-minute acts, each about a cardinal sin: pride, greed, lust, wrath, gluttony, envy and sloth. The year 2020 is reflected in both the play's theme and execution. It is staged in shops closed by the economic crisis resulting from the pandemic. The audience is seated in the street, as the Miami climate is still pleasant in December, in groups of 12. People watch the acts through the store windows and listen with headphones. ... More  Centro Pecci reconfirms its position among contemporary institutions in ItalyPRATO.- Despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic, in 2020 the Centro per larte contemporanea Luigi Pecci reconfirmed its important position among museums and institutions dedicated to contemporary art in Italy, and with its online activities it has created a digital space to foster critical thinking and exchange within the global cultural scene. The museum's capacity to react to the changed scenario was immediate with the creation of the Centro Pecci Extra programme and the Extra Flags initiative in March during the lockdown, and with the rich programme offered immediately afterwards, from the end of May with the reopening. From March 15th, on a daily basis, original cultural content enriched the museums Web TV from artist' videos to in-depth analysis of the exhibitions, films screened in the museums cinema, and contributions from ... More  Luxury French lingerie: lace, hidden clasps and optical illusionsPARIS (AFP).- Under soft light and in concentrated silence, seamstresses at a workshop in the heart of Paris carefully assembled fine Calais lace, embroidering it with onyx beads and sequins in delicate motifs. A couture bra takes two days to create, a bustier three. Corsets, meanwhile, require "real expertise, it's very French," according to Amandine and Vanille at the headquarters of luxury lingerie brand Livy. A piece is made in 20 steps, sometimes with 15 materials. The process takes patience and precision. The limited collection, made entirely by hand, is created exclusively for weddings or red carpet events, according to 39-year-old designer Lisa Chavy. The rest of the line is ready-to-wear and designed to appeal both to clients who want something racy but discreet, and for those looking beyond function for lingerie that is a bit more showy ... More  Grange Park Opera's Wasfi Kani awarded CBEWEST HORSLEY.- Wasfi Kani, CEO / Founder of Grange Park Opera, Surrey, has been awarded a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2021 New Year Honours list, for services to music. The New Year Honours lists recognise the achievements and service of people across the UK, from all walks of life. Along with the Queens Birthday Honours, they are the most significant announcements of civilian and military gallantry awards. With live theatre performances in summer 2020 severely restricted by Covid-19, Grange Park Opera and its indomitable CEO Wasfi Kani were never going to let that stand in their way. The company engaged 157 artists for their Found and Interim seasons in 50 new online, free to view events with 22 hours of entirely new material. These events include FOUR staged operas - all ... More  Surprise ending for publishers: In 2020, business was goodNEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Like everybody else, book publishers will be happy to see the end of 2020. But for many of them, the year has brought some positive news, which has been as welcome as it was surprising: Business has been good. With so many people stuck at home and activities from concerts to movies off-limits, people have been reading a lot or at least buying a lot of books. Print sales by units are up almost 8% so far this year, according to NPD BookScan. E-books and audiobooks, which make up a smaller portion of the market, are up as well. I expect that at the end of the year, when you look at the final numbers, Madeline McIntosh, chief executive of Penguin Random House U.S., said of the industry, it will have been the best year in a very long time. When the United States slammed shut in March, book sales dropped ... More  Acclaimed Swiss architect Luigi Snozzi dies at 88 of Covid-19: reportsGENEVA (AFP).- Acclaimed Swiss architect Luigi Snozzi, one of the main representatives of the so-called Ticinese School of architecture, has died at the age of 88, Swiss media reported Wednesday. He died of Covid-19 on Tuesday morning in a retirement home in Minusio, in the Italian-speaking southern canton of Ticino, according to public broadcaster RSI. Snozzi worked mainly locally in Ticino, and was known for his characteristic use of exposed concrete. "Any intervention implies destruction," he has been quoted as saying. "Destroy consciously, and with joy." He was part of the Ticinese school, which included the likes of Mario Botta and Livio Vacchini, and promoted the idea of rational architecture. Snozzi mainly designed single-family homes, with his most famous works including the Snider and Cavalli houses in Verscio, as well as urban planning ... More |
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Flashback On a day like today, Italian painter Giovanni Boldini was born December 31, 1842. Giovanni Boldini (31 December 1842 - 11 July 1931) was an Italian genre and portrait painter who lived and worked in Paris for most of his career. According to a 1933 article in Time magazine, he was known as the "Master of Swish" because of his flowing style of painting.
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