ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

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How The Smithsonian Has Helped Rebuild Mosul’s Cultural Museum, Wrecked By ISIS

Dr. Richard Kurin, founder of the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative, writes about how the Washington museum complex, along with the Louvre, the World Monuments Fund and the ALIPH Foundation, have helped Iraq's State Board of Antiquities and Heritage restore the ravaged institution. - Smithsonian Magazine

Sotheby’s Buys Whitney Museum’s Breuer Building

Designed by Bauhaus-trained architect Marcel Breuer, the building has had its share of occupants since it was erected. It was first the third home to the Whitney from 1966 until 2014, before the museum moved into its current residence in the Meatpacking District in May 2015. - Hyperallergic

Istanbul’s Priceless Historic Buildings Are Not Ready For Another Earthquake

The massive earthquake that struck near the Syrian border in February killed more than 50,000 people and wrecked half a million homes. Nearly 2,000 historical sites, from a medieval mosque to a Bronze Age settlement, were damaged or destroyed. - The Art Newspaper

Figuring Out The Rules Underlying Conceptual Art, Which Was Invented To Get Rid Of The Rulebook

"There's an underlying logic and set of constraints that constitute specific choices as meaningful. While the materiality of these works is all over the place, they're bolstered by an immaterial scaffold: a set of rules that point us toward what the artist is up to and what really matters." - Aeon

Florida Art Dealer Who Sold Bogus Basquiats And Warhols Gets More Than Two Years In Prison

"After pleading guilty in February to money laundering for selling cheap reproductions of works purportedly by Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Roy Lichtenstein at his Palm Beach galleries, Daniel Elie Bouaziz has been ordered to serve 27 months in prison … followed by three years supervised release." - Artnet

At Brooklyn’s Very Own Superfund Site, Herzog & de Meuron Turn A Derelict Building Into An Art Fabrication Center

"Swiss architecture studio Herzog & de Meuron has completed the restoration and conversion of … the remains of a 115-year-old power plant" along the notoriously contaminated Gowanus Canal "into an art manufacturing hub, now called Powerhouse Arts." - Dezeen

A City’s Nearly 40 Public Sculptures Get Their Yearly Baths

"Zach Tatti, an art conservator, (has) made his annual trek to Philadelphia to clean and restore sculptures throughout the city. It's been a tradition for Tatti's family business since the 1980s, through an agreement with his father, Steve, and the (city's) Association for Public Art." - MSN (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

Vandals Who Attacked Degas In DC’s National Gallery Are Charged

If convicted, Martin and Smith face a maximum sentence of five years in prison as well as a fine of up to $250,000. - ARTnews

One Of Van Gogh’s Last Paintings Has Gone Missing (We Think)

For a century after van Gogh gathered flowers and placed them in an earthen vase to paint, the artwork’s provenance could be easily traced, and the piece was often exhibited in museums for visitors to admire. Now the painting has vanished from public view, its whereabouts unknown. - The New York Times

Using Medieval Tools And Techniques To Rebuild Notre-Dame’s Medieval Roof

"The use of hand tools to rebuild the roof that flames turned into ashes in 2019 is a deliberate, considered choice, especially since power tools would undoubtedly have done the work more quickly. The aim is … to ensure that the centuries-old art of hand-fashioning wood lives on." - AP

Beirut’s Leading Museum Is Back, Three Years After Being Wrecked By That Port Explosion

"Lebanon's Sursock Museum has reopened, three years after a deadly explosion in Beirut's port — set off by tons of improperly stored chemicals — reduced many of its treasured (artworks) to ashes. The reopening Friday night offered Beirutis a rare bright spot in a country reeling from a crippling economic crisis." - AP

Italy Is Raising Museum Ticket Prices (Slightly) To Fund Recovery From Recent Floods

"Following catastrophic floods that have crippled the Emilia-Romagna region, Italy has announced a plan to raise museum admission fees across the country by €1 in an attempt to help save 'cultural heritage' that has been damaged." - ARTnews

This Artist Has Had A Solid Career, And Now He’d Like To Sell Another Artist His Name

"If he finds a buyer, he will be prohibited from being Darren Bader the contemporary artist, and that identity will be taken over by the buyer. ... If the buyer wants to keep making trademark Bader works, they’re welcome to take a crack at it." - The New York Times

The British Team Trying To Preserve, And Restore, As Many Banksys As Possible

"If you owned a valuable painting you'd keep it inside, in correct lighting and temperatures but outside art is open to all the elements - whatever the weather - along with grime, plant life and dog wee." - BBC

A New York City Artist Is Paralyzed After Being Shoved On The Subway

Artist and illustrator Emine Yilmaz Ozsoy's "designs have been featured in outlets such as Chicago Magazine and NPR, and she won an American Illustration award in 2021." - Hyperallergic

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