Visual Arts News from the Vancouver Art Gallery Library June 9, 2010
Submitted by cheryl siegel on June 9, 2010 - 10:58am
in
New York
Lester Johnson, Expressionist Painter, Dies at 91
Mr. Johnson found his subject matter in the joys and sorrows of ordinary people on the street. New York Times, June 9, 2010
This is cable television as a National Endowment for the Arts grant. The comparison makes Work of Art sound vaguely tedious, which it is decidedly not." New York Times, June 9, 2010
Watching Paint Dry On Reality TV? No, It's Worse Than That
"Can a television series jump the shark in the first episode? Bravo's new, awkwardly titled reality-contest show … doesn't merely argue in the affirmative. The plot also gives new meaning to avant-garde, spinning off its axis before getting to the 10-minute mark." Los Angeles Times, June 8, 2010
London
National Trust Baffled By Meaning Of Restored Tintoretto
"The main figure might be Apollo, or it might be Hymen, the Greek god of marriage. The man draped in blue might be a poet who is being presented to his spouse, the rather pale lady - or he might not be. What is the die with the five dots, underneath the woman draped in red, all about? What is the significance of all the gold?" The Guardian (UK), June 9, 2010
Rare Warhol portrait of Liz Taylor offered at auction
“Auction house Christie's says a rare Andy Warhol portrait of Hollywood screen legend Elizabeth Taylor will go on sale in London this month. Silver Liz is expected to fetch up to £8 million ($11.5 million) when it goes under the hammer June 30.” Globe & Mail, June 8, 2010
“Why is so much contemporary art awful? We’re living through the death throes of the modernist project—and this isn’t the first time that greatness has collapsed into decadence.” Prospect (UK), May 24, 2010
Altamira, Spain
Spain To Reopen 'Sistine Chapel Of Prehistoric Art'
"A cave complex boasting prized prehistoric paintings will reopen after eight years of closure, despite scientists' warnings that heat and moisture from human visitors damage the site … [V]visits to the Caves of Altamira in the northern Cantabria region will resume next year, although on a still-unspecified, restricted basis." AP, June 8, 2010
Cave paintings in Spain reopen amid controversy
“A Spanish cave complex boasting prized prehistoric paintings will reopen after eight years of closure, despite scientists' warnings that heat and moisture from human visitors will damage the site known as the Sistine Chapel of Palaeolithic art.” CBC News, June 8, 2010
Berlin
Budget Woes Cause Delay In Rebuilding Kaisers' Palace In Berlin
"The reconstruction of Berlin's royal palace, a 552 million-euro ($660 million) project that aims to restore the former residence of Prussian rulers to the center of the German capital, will be delayed by three years" due to budget cuts announced by chancellor Angela Merkel's government. The landmark "was razed by the East German government in 1950 under international protest to make way for a Red Square-style marching ground." Bloomberg, June 7, 2010
Warsaw
Polish National Museum Backs Gay Rights With Show
Already threatened with demonstrations, the exhibition about homoeroticism will mainly "feature classical works from the National Museum's collection, juxtaposed with contemporary art. The director, Piotr Piotrowski, said its emphasis will lie on eastern Central European art because 'here the battle for equal rights for homosexuals continues'." The Art Newspaper, June 8, 2010
Miscellaneous
“How texting became young donors’ preferred way to make donations.” Stanford Social Innovation Review, Summer 2010
Cheryl Siegel | Librarian | Vancouver Art Gallery | 750 Hornby St. | Vancouver, BC | V6Z 2H7 | 604-662-4709 | fax 604-682-1086 | www.vanartgallery.bc.ca
