So far as it has an argument it goes like this: Pablo Picasso was an important artist. He was also something of a jerk around women. And women are more than “goddesses or doormats,” as Picasso brutally had it; women, too, have stories to tell. - The New York Times
Plans were underway to give them back, and a Ghanaian architect was designing a great new building. Then "Nigeria’s outgoing president announced he had transferred ownership of the looted items to a direct descendant of the ruler they had been stolen from." Uh, wait. - The New York Times
"One of the biggest challenges with incorporating Spanish and English text is planning for the display of double the amount of text which would otherwise be included. In addition to affecting the layout, this additional text can increase the show’s production time and the budget." - Glasstire
A Romanian-born owner of a London design store says "the décor industry is fond of artisanal work right now, adding that if it’s 'obscure' — she used air quotes — that was even better." So that's great for Horezu. - The New York Times
But the artist invited the entire seaside community of Bexhill to help fix the damage and restore the statue. "More than 300 volunteers ... queued along the promenade to help restore the bronze sculpture." - The Observer (UK)
In a letter last month on the institution's 60th anniversary, the Chinese president said NAMOC should "be persistent in upholding a politically correct direction, putting people first, and practicing the core values of socialism … in order to … promote self-strengthening of cultural confidence, and new glory of the socialist culture." - Artnet
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
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
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
"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
"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
"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
"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)
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
