A visitor described as an "elderly person" vandalized Miriam Cahn's painting fuck abstraction!, which the artist and museum say is a response to human rights abuses by Russian troops in Ukraine but which conservative politicians and activists say promotes pedophilia. Cahn has decided to let the purple paint remain. - ARTnews
My research often focuses on how art and politics have intersected during the past few decades. With a whirlwind 40-year socio-political history this lens can be applied to the prize. - The Conversation
"Might they not unite over what they have in common? They all want sustainable communities and good design. Architects and the monarch also have a shared enemy: the sacrifice of positive architectural qualities to housebuilders’ pursuit of profit." - The Observer (UK)
Jenna Segal is intent on buying art by women from Peggy Guggenheim's 1943 Exhibition of 31 Women. That show contained "names that would later be etched into history," including Frida Kahlo, Leonora Carrington, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, and Meret Oppenheim. - The New York Times
"The concept was inspired by the banyan trees that guard the entrance to many villages in Guangdong, where many early Chinese immigrants to Los Angeles originated. Except these trees will not be living. Instead, they will be fabricated in a petrified state." - Los Angeles Times
As The NYT elegantly puts it, "the art and antiquities market had for too long been a 'no-questions-asked' environment." Now, those questions are being asked - often by prosecutors. - The New York Times
"Asco was known for its glam looks and outrageous conceptual antics and for redefining what Chicano art could be," but as former members fihgt about credit for the artworks, its history is starting to crumble. - Los Angeles Times
Liz Sexton "can spend upwards of 100 hours on a mask, honing the details using woodworking techniques, be that carving more than a hundred tri-pointed teeth of a marine iguana, or using an orbital sander to achieve the milky smooth skin of a beluga whale." - Minnesota Public Radio
Critics generally hate the shows, but, if attendance figures are anything to go by, the paying public loves them. Museums have taken notice of the excited crowds, and now, they’re beginning to try their hands at digital showmanship. - The New York Times
Pushkin has been falling rapidly in Ukraine. Since the start of the full-scale invasion last February, more than 30 monuments to the poet have been dismantled. From a western European or anglophone perspective the loathing of a poet who died nearly 200 years ago can seem bewildering. - The Guardian
"(In Spanish colonial days,) villagers … filled chapels with elaborate altarpieces made of local wood and varnished with pine sap. Today, threatened by dwindling congregations and fading traditions, some of their descendants are fighting to save these historic structures from literally crumbling back to the earth they were built with." - AP
A mega-attraction devoted to the natural world may seem an odd fit for Manhattan, one of the most human-manipulated landscapes on earth. But in another sense, these urban oases of physical spectacle make more sense than ever in our digital era, when forests and deserts are often viewed largely through windshields or computer screens. - Bloomberg
The buildings stand free of any mortar or metal, which makes them more capable of shifting and flexing along with torques in the ground. This brilliance of mobility even continues underground. - Nautilus
"Museums in Austria and Greece are discussing the potential return to Athens of two ancient Greek sculptures, a move which could have a knock-on effect for the world's thorniest cultural heritage dispute: the fate of the British Museum's Parthenon Sculptures." - AP
"The building boasts a footprint of 110,000 square feet, with dedicated space for temporary and permanent exhibitions, educational programs, film screenings, and a café. It's situated in a historic district on Istanbul's Karaköy waterfront, where the Bosporus Strait and Golden Horn estuary meet." - Artnet
