| The First Art Newspaper on the Net |   | Established in 1996 | Tuesday, August 21, 2018 |
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| | Christie's New York to auction an artwork created by an algorithm | |
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The portrait depicts a gentleman, possibly French and to judge by his dark frockcoat and plain white collar a man of the church. © Christie?s Images Limited 2018.
NEW YORK, NY.- This fall, as part of the ongoing dialogue over AI and art, Christies will become the first major auction house to offer a work of art created by an algorithm, which will be included in the Prints & Multiples auction in New York October 23-25. The work is titled Portrait of Edmond de Belamy (estimate: $7,000-10,000), created by artificial intelligence and conceived by the Paris-based collective Obvious. The portrait depicts a gentleman, possibly French and to judge by his dark frockcoat and plain white collar a man of the church. The work appears unfinished: the facial features are somewhat indistinct and there are blank areas of canvas. The portrait, however, is not the product of a human mind. It is one of a group of 11 unique portraits of the fictional Belamy family conceived by Obvious, a Paris-based collective consisting of Hugo Caselles-Dupré, Pierre Fautrel and Gauthier Vernier. Hugo Caselles-Dupré, repre ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day People visit the ruins of the valley temples by night on August 11, 2018, in Agrigente. Ludovic MARIN / AFP
| 200-million year old Pterosaur 'built for flying' | | Museum Ludwig exhibits 'Photographers Name: Aenne Biermann' | | 'Most horrible place on earth': German Foreign Minister visits Auschwitz | 
Caelestiventus hanseni -- roughly, "heavenly wind" -- is probably the most complete skeletal remains of a pterosaur ever found. Image: Nate Edwards/BYU Photo.
PARIS (AFP).- Scientists unveiled a previously unknown species of giant pterosaur, the first creatures with a backbone to fly under their own power. Neither dino nor bird, pterosaurs -- more commonly known as pterodactyls -- emerged during the late Triassic period more than 200 million years ago and lorded over primeval skies until a massive space rock slammed into Earth, wiping out the dinosaurs and most other forms of life some 65 million years ago. The newly discovered member of the family, identified through remains found in northeastern Utah, had a wing-span of 1.5 metres (five feet) and 112 teeth, including fang-like spikes sticking out near the snout. A jutting lower jaw suggests a pelican-like pouch, perhaps to scoop up fish and unsuspecting small reptiles. "They are delicately framed animals that are built for flying," said Brooks Britt, a ... More | | 
Aenne Biermann, Porträt, um 1929. Museum Ludwig, Köln. Repro: Rheinisches Bildarchiv Köln.
COLOGNE.- With the Agfa Collection, the Museum Ludwig holds not only an extensive collection of photographs from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but alsolittle known and not yet fully processedthe archives of the Agfa, Leonar, and Perutz advertising departments. As documented by announcements in photography magazines, the companies encouraged their customers to submit negatives, and those whose works they accepted were paid. The negatives and various prints were used to present the quality of the papers, negatives, flashes, and other items in brochures, magazines, and at fairs. Negatives and photographs by Aenne Biermann (18981933) have also been found in these collections. Biermann, who died prematurely in 1933, was represented in groundbreaking exhibitions during her lifetime, such as the international Werkbund exhibition Film und Foto, and was regarded as an avant- garde photographer of the first order wi ... More | | 
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas passes a barbed wire fence in the former German concentration camp Auschwitz on August 20, 2018. JANEK SKARZYNSKI / AFP.
OSWIECIM (AFP).- German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Monday visited the former Nazi-German death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, which he called "the most horrible place on earth". Maas has often said that the site which Nazi Germany installed in occupied Poland during World War II inspired him to go into politics. "I saw thousands of children's shoes that were taken off them on their way to the gas chamber, tons of human hair that was taken from people before they were sent to the gas chamber," Maas said after visiting the site in the southern Polish city of Oswiecim. "This is the most horrible place on earth. And it is here where you have to make a choice: either you lose all faith in humanity, or you gain the hope and the strength to stand up for human dignity and to work for it," he added. "This is a place of remembrance that reminds us Germans above all of what we did to millions of people. ... More |
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| Australian artist Charles Blackman OBE passed away this morning | | Eagles overtake Michael Jackson with biggest selling album | | Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU offers a rare glimpse of exquisite Tennessee Williams paintings | 
Artist Charles Blackman OBE.
SYDNEY.- The Charles Blackman Foundation announced this morning that Charles Blackman OBE passed away just one week after his 90th birthday celebrations. Charles Blackman is regarded as one of the most important figurative painters in Australia. Best known for his Schoolgirl and Alice in Wonderland series, Blackmans artistic practice spanned painting, drawing, sculpture and tapestry, using his multidisciplinary approach to explore the female psyche, poetry, music and aesthetic philosophies. Blackmans work is held in all major public collections in Australia and internationally including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Tate Gallery in London. He was the recipient of many prizes and distinctions including a major touring retrospective in 1993 and was appointed an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) for services to Australian art in 1977. A portrait of Charles Blackman by Jon Molvig won the Archibald Prize in 1966 and ... More | | 
The Eagles album "Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975" is displayed at Amoeba Music on August 20, 2018 in San Francisco, California. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/AFP.
NEW YORK (AFP).- A box set of The Eagles' greatest hits has surpassed Michael Jackson's "Thriller" as the biggest selling album of all time, according to a new ranking by the Recording Industry Association of America. RIAA said "The Eagles: Their Greatest Hits 1971-75," a compilation of the country-rock group's first four albums, has now sold 38 million units, topping "Thriller's" 33 million. The set had long held the top spot but was overtaken in 2009 by "Thriller" following a surge of sales for the album after Jackson's death. "Hotel California," the Eagles' 1976 album with the hit single of the same name, was ranked third, with 26 million units sold. The new ranking includes sales both of discs and via streaming, which had not been calculated for the Eagles since 2006, according to Rolling Stone magazine. "We are grateful for our families, our management, our crew, ... More | | 
The Blaze of the Moment, by Tennessee Williams (1970s), oil on canvas. On loan from David Wolkowsky.
MIAMI, FLA.- Long known as Mr. Key West, David Wolkowsky, the famed scion of Floridas pioneer Jewish family that helped to settle Key West in the 1800s, has loaned his paintings by close friend Tennessee Williams to the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU for their premiere in Miami Beach. This is one of the few times they have been exhibited outside of Key West. The exhibition Tennessee Williams: Playwright and Painter is an intimate showing of nine exquisitely rare paintings by one of Americas greatest playwrights, created by Williams in Key West during the 1970s. One of his closest friends was David Wolkowsky, the Key West developer who owned a private island called Ballast Key (nine miles from Key West), and the Pier House Resort. Both idyllic locations were the scene of many glamorous gatherings hosted by David and Tennessee, including parties for Hollywood luminaries, heads of state, and societys crème-de ... More |
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| Exhibiting artists revealed for The National 2019: New Australian Art | | Vanderven Oriental Art announces TEFAF New York Fall highlights | | LiveAuctioneers Mid-Year Report reveals industry's highest online sales prices, sell-through rate and bidder traffic | 
Rushdi Anwar, Irhal (expel), hope and the sorrow of displacement, 2013-ongoing. Burnt wooden chairs, black pigment, charcoal and ash, dimensions variable © Rushdi Anwar.
SYDNEY.- The Art Gallery of New South Wales, Carriageworks and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia today announced that The National 2019: New Australian Art will present the work of 65 emerging, mid-career and established Australian contemporary artists living across the country and abroad. A major collaborative venture, The National 2019 is the second edition of a six-year initiative presented in 2017, 2019 and 2021, exploring the latest ideas and forms in contemporary Australian art. Connecting three of Sydneys key cultural precincts The Domain, Redfern and Circular Quay The National 2019 follows a successful first edition of the exhibition held in the autumn of 2017 that attracted 286,631 visitors. The 2019 exhibition is curated by AGNSW Curator of Photographs, Isobel Parker Philip; Carriageworks Senior Curator of Visual Arts, Daniel Mudie Cunningham; ... More | | 
Warriors, China, Early Tang Dynasty (618-907), late 7th century, H: 89.5cm (35in). A pair of terracotta warriors in a striking stance with fierce expressions. Image © Vanderven Oriental Art.
'S-HERTOGENBOSCH.- From October 27 31, 2018, Vanderven Oriental Art will exhibit at TEFAF New York Fall (Stand 342). The long-established gallery, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, is one of the worlds leading international dealers in Chinese export porcelain, Han and Tang pottery, and Chinese works of art. Vanderven will showcase a selection of blue and white porcelain alongside works from Figures, an exquisite catalog celebrating the human form in Chinese antiques. This year, the booths focus will be on colossal porcelain vases, including a piece once owned by financier and avid art collector J.P. Morgan (1837-1913). The booth will also include an early and very fine white marble torso from the Northern Qi period: · Double Gourd Vases, China, Kangxi period (1662-1722), ca. 1710, H: 111cm (43.7in). Pair of very large double gourde (hulu) ... More | | 
An increase of more than 50,000 new bidders, on average, every month.
NEW YORK, NY.- LiveAuctioneers, the worlds leading online marketplace for exceptional fine art, antiques and vintage collectibles, has released its Mid-Year 2018 Report confirming record results and a year-over-year pattern of growth unrivaled in the industry. In the first six months of 2018, LiveAuctioneers delivered winning bidders on more than 300,000 items and processed billions of dollars in winning bids and underbids, said LiveAuctioneers CEO, Phil Michaelson. We dramatically outperformed the competition, and our accelerating growth and Internet best practices continue to drive the highest-quality consignments to auction houses that are on the LiveAuctioneers platform. It has been a source of great pride for our team to be the lowest-cost provider of premium services and yet drive the best results in the industry. The first half of the year comparisons on a year-over-year basis include: An increase of 37% more bids An industry-leading ... More |
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| Rizzoli to release Marla Hamburg Kennedy's 'Brooklyn Photographs Now' | | Record-shattering Mickey Mantle jersey stuns hobby in $8.6 Million Heritage Sports Platinum Night Auction | | ICA Philadelphia announces major $1 million gift from Marc J. Leder to endow curatorial directorship | 
Franck Bohbot Wonder Wheel, Coney Island,Brooklyn, NY, 2013. © Brooklyn Photographs Now by Marla Hamburg Kennedy, Rizzoli, 2018.
NEW YORK, NY.- Brooklyn is a place of deep pride: The Brooklyn Dodgers, Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs, the Cyclone, and, of course, the world's most famous bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge. These are just a few of the urban icons that contribute to the romance for Brooklyn with all its contradictions that have been chronicled in countless novels, poems, songs, films, and photographs that have made it the legend it is today. Today, the borough has transformed itself into a cultural capital with more artists, designers, architects, filmmakers, dancers, writers, and musicians living there than anywhere else. Brooklyn is an attitude. It's got more grit, chutzpah, and moxie than anyplace else. And, unlike its neighbor across the river, Manhattan, it has a great sense of humor about itself. From Coney Island, to Prospect Park, to Red Hook, to Williamsburg, the avant-garde spirit of the city's biggest borough ... More | | 
1964 World Series home run jersey nearly triples standing Mantle record with $1.32M price realized.
DALLAS, TX.- Over a half century after Mickey Mantle established the World Series home run record with his 17th and 18th in the 1964 World Series, the jersey he wore as he launched those long balls set a record of its own at $1,320,000, the highest price ever paid at auction for a Mantle gamer. The price shatters the standing Mantle record of $486,000 set by Heritage Auctions just 18 months ago. The result marks just the fourth seven-figure sale of a game-worn jersey in sports collectibles auction history. Thats the power of Platinum Night, explained Chris Ivy, Director of Sports Auctions for Heritage, referring to the high-value, low-volume format of the Aug. 18-19 Summer Sports Collectibles Auction. For six- and seven-figure sports collectibles, there simply is no alternative for consignors looking to rocket past market norms. A pair of 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie cards gave the The ... More | | 
Robert Chaney, Marc J. Leder Director of Curatorial Affairs. Photo: Constance Mensh.
PHILADELPHIA, PA.- A $1 million gift from Wharton alumnus Marc J. Leder will endow a Curatorial Directorship at the Institute of Contemporary Art, the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) announced today, marking a major milestone for the internationally acclaimed institution. Additionally, Penn announced that Leder has been appointed to the ICAs Board of Overseers. The Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania is a non-collecting institution presenting exhibitions at the forefront of contemporary practice and culture. Throughout its history ICA has been instrumental in identifying and developing many promising artists before they attained prominence within the international art world, including household names like Andy Warhol, whose first museum show of works was displayed at ICA in 1965. A Wharton 83 alumnus, Leder is Co-Founder ... More |
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5 minutes with? Two limestone Tang-dynasty bodhisattvas
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 Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi Announces 2018 Transfield Australian Invited Artist ProgramSYDNEY.- Transfield Holdings and Sculpture by the Sea announced two respected female sculptors as recipients of this years Transfield Australian Invited Artists Program of $15,000 each: Wendy Teakel (Regional NSW) Alessandra Rossi (Perth, WA) Transfield Holdings has been a supporter of Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi for 14 years. The Transfield Australian Invited Artist Program funds two major new works each year for Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi supporting the careers of leading sculptors. We are very pleased to support these two female sculptors and were happy to see more women achieving this sort of recognition in the arts, particularly in sculpture, said Guido Belgiorno-Nettis AM and Luca Belgiorno-Nettis AM, Managing Directors of Transfield Holdings. Congratulations to Sculpture by the Sea for moving in this direction and establishing ... More Mali singer Khaira Arby, 'Nightingale of Timbuktu', is deadBAMAKO (AFP).- Malian singer Khaira Arby, whose vocal prowess earned her the honorific "The Nightingale of Timbuktu," has died, her family said on Monday. She was 59. One of a generation of legendary musicians from the ancient northwestern Malian city, Arby became a major voice for peace in her troubled country. "My aunt died on Sunday in a hospital in Bamako. (She) will be buried on Monday in an official ceremony," her nephew Amadou Diallo, a teacher, said in Timbuktu. Arby began her musical career at the age of 11, developing powerful, swooping vocal skills that earned her glowing international reviews in 2010 with the album "Timbuktu Tarab" -- a showcase for the diversity of Malian music. Her songs were sung in Arabic, Bambara, Tamasheq and Songhai, languages reflecting the diverse ethnic mix of the vast Sahel country. Many carried a strong social ... More Symbolic & powerful poppy art installation begins at National WWI Museum and MemorialKANSAS CITY, MO.- During the course of World War I, approximately 117,000 American soldiers lost their lives in defense of the United States and its allies. As the centennial of the Armistice of World War I approaches, the National WWI Museum and Memorial and artist Ada Koch honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice with a moving and powerful art installation. Reflections of Hope: Armistice 1918 features 117 intricate metal poppy sculptures designed by Koch in a symbolic arrangement in the Reflection Pool at the Museum and Memorial. Each poppy represents 1,000 American soldiers killed during the Great War. Inspired by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae in his poem, In Flanders Fields, Kochs latest work uses the powerful symbolism of the poppy to commemorate American service men and women who lost their lives. My fascination with the poppies ... More PULSE announces 2018 Projects special commission artistMIAMI, FLA.- On Thursday, August 16, art collectors, curators, and friends joined Katelijne de Backer, Director of PULSE Contemporary Art Fair for an intimate dinner and conversation in honor of PULSEs 2018 PROJECTS Special Commission Artist, hosted at the new Mizu and Taiyo Penthouse of Nobu Hotel Eden Roc Miami Beach. PULSE will present this years PROJECTS Special Commission by Miya Ando, whose immersive, site-specific installation will activate PULSEs entrance to welcome visitors down a path of discovery before they even enter the fair. Using her signature imagery Clouds, photographed in Miami and transferred into a series of gossamer silk banners, Andos experiential work will offer an opportunity to become aware of nature and the environment, promoting calmness, inter-connectivity, and an attention to the viewers relationship ... More H&H Classics to offer a rare and eye-catching Jaguar E-Type LONDON.- This rare and eye-catching Jaguar E-Type with its aristocratic Scottish connections was built to special order of the Sixth Earl of Cawdor with a tuned engine, Abbey Panels modified 'quad headlamp / shark gill' bonnet, Koni shock absorbers, competition wire wheels and Restall seats. It will be offered for sale at No Reserve on October 17th at the next H&H Classics auction at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford in Cambridgeshire. It is estimated to sell for around £40,000 to £50,000. The car was supplied new by P.S. Nicholson Ltd of Forres to Hugh John Vaughan Campbell, the 6th Earl of Cawdor. It was inspired by the similarly bespoke Fixed Head Coupe made for Andrew Douglas Alexander Thomas Bruce, the 11th Earl of Elgin who was president of the RAC and Ecurie Ecosse at the time. Just three such 'quad headlamp / shark gill' E-Type ... More Once upon a time... preserving folk tales in BeninCOTONOU (AFP).- Dusk settled on Sainte-Cecile square and the oil lanterns cast a soft yellow light as a storyteller took to the stage and bound the audience with a magic spell of words. The tale was about a naughty little girl who disobeys her parents and whistles at night -- a way of summoning evil spirits. She is attacked by fierce beasts but is saved from death thanks to the courageous intervention of her neighbour, a hunter. Djimada, a teenage high-school student, was among those who were captivated by the centuries-old story. "I was always told never to whistle at night but never understood why," she said. "Now I know." The tiny African state of Benin is perhaps best known to the world as the cradle of voodoo. But this is only part of a rich cultural history that includes a seam of folk tales, many of them handed down from generation ... More Paintings attributed to Van Gogh, Filla, Jawlensky will headline saleFRANKLIN, MASS.- Paintings attributed to the Dutch master Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), the Czechoslovakian Cubist-Fauvist Emil Filla (1882-1953) and Russian Expressionist Alexej von Jawlensky (1864-1941) are just a few of the artworks up for bid in a live and internet auction slated for Thursday, September 6th, by Woodshed Art Auctions, starting at 5:30 pm Eastern time. The 237-lot Hidden Masterpieces Art Auction will be held live in Woodshed Art Auctions 500 Gallery, at 475 Franklin Village Drive in Franklin, with a preview exhibition that will begin on Wednesday, August 29th. The color catalog can be viewed now at woodshedartauctions.com, as well as on the bidding platform LiveAuctioneers.com. People can register to bid on either site. In addition to the artworks from the three abovenamed artists, the sale will also feature large ... More Bulgarian memories of Prague Spring: 'We weren't aggressors'SOFIA (AFP).- Bulgarian soldiers who took part in crushing the 1968 Prague Spring democracy movement under orders from Moscow bristle at being considered aggressors. "If we were aggressors in Czechoslovakia, having been sent there by the Warsaw Pact, what are our soldiers today who've been sent to Iraq and Afghanistan for NATO?" asks reserve colonel Lyubcho Banov. His irritation is visible as he recalls commanding a company tasked with protecting Prague's Ruzyne airport as the Czech Republic marks the 50th anniversary of the Soviet crackdown. "It was a political decision: it was inconceivable that Czechoslovakia would be allowed to escape. As soldiers we carried out our duty, without firing on civilians," Banov says. "We weren't aggressors." Pencho Valkov, a businessman from the central town of Drianovo, bears a small scar on his chest from where ... More Tehran museum lionises war in which Iran took on 'world'TEHRAN.- With its air raid simulator and battlefield reconstructions, the state-of-the-art Holy Defence Museum in Tehran seeks to glorify the Iran-Iraq war as a time when the country faced down "the whole world". As Iranians prepare to mark the 30th anniversary of the end of the devastating conflict on Monday, they are being urged to display the same steadfastness as country after country falls in line with crippling unilateral sanctions being reimposed by Washington after its abandonment of a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers. "The message of the museum is perseverance, resistance and the protection of our honour," deputy director Seyyed Mohsen Hajbabian told AFP. "We teach younger generations the spirit of combat. Iraq was backed by the whole world and Iran was alone in defending itself, but thanks to God... we were victorious in ... More The Jewish Museum exhibits Yael Bartana's installation 'Entartete Kunst Lebt! (Degenerate Art Lives!)'NEW YORK, NY.- Yael Bartana works in film, video, and still photography. Much of her art is directly political, often setting subjects of vital current concern within a historical context or juxtaposing present crises with episodes and references from past ones. Her films are usually short and crisp in presentation, with a heightened dramaticeven epicquality. Here, Bartana builds her own statement about war on that of another artist. The German painter and printmaker Otto Dix (18911969) was one of the worlds great artists of war imagery. His 1920 painting War Cripples was a scathing indictment of the horrors of war as manifested in the damaged bodies and disturbed minds of combat veterans. His figures are both suffering victims and cartoonish grotesques who participate willingly in a monstrous celebration of national pride. Under the Nazis Dixs art was ... More |
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Flashback On a day like today, American architect Charles Eames died August 21, 1978. Charles Ormond Eames, Jr., (June 17, 1907 - August 21, 1978) was an American designer, architect and film maker. In creative partnership with his spouse Ray Kaiser Eames he is responsible for groundbreaking contributions in the field of architecture, furniture design, industrial design, manufacturing and the photographic arts. He briefly studied architecture at Washington University in St. Louis on an architecture scholarship. In this image: Charles and Ray Eames, A Highly Important And Unique Sculpture, 1943, eight to twelve ply laminated woods, walnut-faced, 37½ in. (95.3 cm.) high, 27 in. (68.6 cm.) wide, 13 in. (33 cm.) deep, plywood laminate variable from 7/16 in. (11 mm.) to 5/16 in. (8 mm.). Estimate: $400,000 - $600,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2012.
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