Toronto Iain Baxter& and five decades of combinations The celebrated multimedia artist’s work is featured in a retrospective at the AGO.  Globe and Mail, February 28, 2012

Art Deco designer brought flamboyance to his work and life See life as a 10-year-old, dress like an 18-year-old, think like a 25-year-old, he recommended.  Graphic designer Theo Dimson’s modus operandi was as dynamic, elegant and creative as the many Art Deco posters and works that epitomized his long career. At age 80, two years before he died, he was asked to name five highlights of his life. He roared “Hell, my whole life has been one gorgeous highlight.”  Globe and Mail February 28, 201

Montreal Meat-dress sculptor wins Governor General's art award
Jana Sterbak, the Montreal sculptor and performance artist best known for her controversial meat dress, is among the artists to be honoured with 2012 Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts.  CBC, February 28, 2012  

Los Angeles Gigantic Rock Is On Its Way To LACMA "After nearly half a year of delays, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's 340-ton monolith, sitting in a Riverside County quarry, will begin its long, circuitous journey to the museum Tuesday night." Los Angeles Times, February 28, 2012

Boston Shepard Fairey Pleads Guilty In Criminal Case Of Obama 'Hope' Image "The creator of the Barack Obama 'HOPE' poster pleaded guilty Friday to criminal contempt, saying he made a 'terrible decision' in 2009 to destroy some documents and fabricate others in a civil lawsuit pertaining to The Associated Press photograph he relied upon to make the poster." USA Today (AP) February 24, 2012  

London UK Business Funding For The Arts Down 7 Percent In 2011 "Overall, private sector investment in culture in 2011 rose by 4% to £686 million, driven by an increase in support from trusts and foundations and individual giving. Of that £686 million, business support now accounts for £134.2 million, trusts and foundations for £170.3 million (up 10%) and individual giving for £382.2 million (up 6%). Within those results, theatre suffered a particularly poor year with private sector support falling by 10% from £53.8 million to £48.2 million." The Stage, February 28, 2012

Why Museums Really Don't Like Kids "They love them in school uniform, all besuited and trotting along behind a teacher. They are very keen to support "out of the classroom learning" as long as those having the lessons are accompanied by plenty of classroom assistants. Then they'll boast about how many young people have visited their museum each year, and how much they have learnt. Yet if these same teenagers turned up out of school hours, dressed in hoodies, T-shirts and trainers, they'd get a very different reception." The Guardian (UK) February 28, 2012

Beijing  At Home With Ai Weiwei And His Posse "With all the people hanging around, the place feels a little bit like a very comfortable, more wholesome version of Andy Warhol's Factory except that Chinese state security agents are waiting just outside the walls and could burst in again at the first hint of subversive behaviour." Slate (Financial Times) February 26, 2012

Pritzker Prize Awarded to Wang Shu, Chinese Architect Wang Shu, an architect whose work looks to the past as well as to the future, has been awarded the Pritzker Prize.   New York Times, February 28, 2012