Vancouver

Vancouver gallery faces staff revolt over funding of new buildings

“As it fights to convince the public that Vancouver should support a new $350-million art museum, [Vancouver Art Gallery employees] question the gallery’s ambitious plans while it is issuing layoff notices and reducing hours for more than a fifth of its staff.”  Globe & Mail, August 13, 2010

Victoria

 Painter was one of the most important of his generation

Len Gibbs, one of British Columbia's best-known artists, has died in Victoria at the age of 81. Vancouver Sun, August 16, 2010

Cortes Island

Artist slain on small B.C. island

Painter, Stefano Savioli, was found last Friday in his home on Cortes Island.  The RCMP are conducting a homicide investigation.   CBC News, August 12, 2010

Toronto

On Bay Street, muscly scallions and blood-red encaustics

Reviews of exhibitions: Summer Salon 4 at FCP Gallery, Gilbert Garcin at Stephen Bulger Gallery, Handmade Handpicked at Hotshot.  Globe & Mail, August 14, 2010

Young artists need moral support – they also need cash

“We whose grown children (many of them following our example) have gone into the arts are filled with legitimate worry these days. In a post-recession world, will these aspiring artists, musicians, writers, theatre directors and journalists even do as well as we did?” Globe & Mail, August 12, 2010

Philadelphia

Art: What is art's place in the picture?

"Art museums "not just about art" - how pathetically sad. Yet the evidence is all around us that this mind-set has become firmly rooted, in activities such as jazz Fridays at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and yoga classes at the Museum of Modern Art. The cultural shift isn't confined to programming. Museums in this area and elsewhere are dedicating spaces to non-art cultural use as well as to making money." Philadelphia Inquirer, August 15, 2010

Las Vegas

The Movable Buffet: Repainting Vegas' art ambitions

"I think in the past we've tried a bit too hard to be something that we're not. There's this perceptual barrier that unless you are an expert, galleries aren't for you. Art doesn't have to be something that you pay to go see." Los Angeles Times, August 15, 2010

Los Angeles

Tale of Ansel Adams Negatives Grows Hazy

A day after announcements about the negatives, Matthew Adams, a grandson of the photographer, disputed the finding, questioned the credentials of the experts and went so far as to call the whole business a “scam.” New York Times, August 13, 2010

Ansel Adams And the Art World Name Game

“Why is a set of photos worth millions if they were shot by Ansel Adams, and next to nothing if the photographer depressing the plunger was a nobody? After all, the images remain the same. To the extent that art is about appreciating aesthetic objects for their own sake, is it right to put so much stake in the question of who did the drawing or painting or snapping?” Wall Street Journal, August 13, 2010

Cornwall, UK

8-year-old boy is U.K.’s newest art sensation

“Paintbrush prodigy, Kieron Williamson, dubbed “mini Monet” by the British press – is a global sensation. All 33 of the pastels, watercolours and oil paintings in his latest exhibition sold, within half an hour, for a total of £150,000 ($243,000 Cdn.).” Globe & Mail, August 13, 2010

Weil am Rhein, Germany

A Compendium of Everyday Genius

A modern version of Samuel Henshall’s invention is displayed together with a paper clip, clothespin, rubber band, egg carton, shipping container and 30 other useful and familiar objects in “Hidden Heroes: The Genius of Everyday Things,” an exhibition opening Friday at the Vitra Design Museum.” New York Times, August 15, 2010

Cairo

Largest Islamic art museum reopens after 8 years

“The Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo, the world's largest, opened Saturday for previews after an eight-year restoration costing about $10 million US.” CBC News, August 14, 2010

Florence

Dispute: Who Owns "David"?

 "A fierce row has erupted over the ownership of Michelangelo's David between the Italian state and Florence, the city where the masterpiece is on display." The Guardian (UK), August 16, 2010

Various

Where's The Beauty In Today's Architecture

 "If you want to make nine out of 10 architects squirm, ask them if they think about beauty when they're designing, or whether beauty in architecture is profoundly important to them." The Independent (UK), August 15, 2010