ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

VISUAL

A Mystery In The Desert, Solved

Michael Heizer's megasculpture in the Nevada desert is called City and is a mile long, half a mile wide, and the artist's masterpiece. "It had become the art-world version of ancient Atlantis, a chimera. Art-world Atlantis will shortly be accepting reservations." - The New York Times

The U.S. Bananas Art Trial Is About To Begin

The judge who allowed the trial to go forward: "While using silver duct tape to affix a banana to a wall may not espouse the highest degree of creativity, its absurd and farcical nature meets the ‘minimal degree of creativity’ needed to qualify as original." - The Observer (UK)

Cops Chase Artists Out Of A Park In Manhattan

The artists, who were painting, had their names displayed - and the park cops said that constituted "soliciting." - Hyperallergic

Drought Exposes Ancient Spanish StoneHenge

Experts believe the striking circle of dozens of megalithic stones has existed since 5000 BC. However, it was first discovered by German archaeologist Hugo Obermaier in 1926 before it became flooded in 1963 due to a rural development project under Francisco Franco's dictatorship. - ABCNews

Gallery 249 At The Met Is Full Of Stolen Art, Says Cambodian Government

"The Cambodians have enlisted the help of the U.S. Justice Department to press for the return of dozens of artworks, basing their claim in part on the account of a reformed looter. ... But the dispute (with the museum) has evolved into something of an odd standoff." - The New York Times

NFTs Aren’t A Scam, They’re A Story

Most NFT projects are definitely bubbles—but the NFT art-and-collectibles trading ecosystem as a whole is something more like a new form of art-themed online gambling. It scratches the same itch as horse racing or sports betting, but for digital natives. - Artnet

Preserving The Traditional Kashmiri Craft Of Papier-Mâché

"Papier-mâché has been practiced for centuries by Kashmiri artisans ... who make their living from the craft. But, in recent years, just as Kashmiri papier-mâché has gained recognition in museums across the world, the renowned and beloved art has faced extinction." - ARTnews

Explaining The Controversy Over The Painted Ancient Greek Statuary At The Met Museum

The argument is not about pristine whiteness or the purity of uncolored marble: scholars have known ancient Greek statuary was originally painted for over a century.  At issue is the particular approach used by the archaeologists behind this exhibit and the flat visual affect that results. - The New York Times

Architectural Digest Airbrushed Cambodian Antiquities Out Of One Of Their Fabulous-Home Photo-Spreads — And Why?

The feature on the San Francisco mansion of Roger and Sloan Lindemann Barnett includes an image of an interior courtyard with empty pedestals.  Those pedestals aren't actually empty: they hold Khmer statuary that the Cambodian government says was looted in the 1990s. Here's how they identified it. - The Washington Post

Ten Of The World’s Most Ingenious Repurposings Of Buildings

The list ranges from a small watertower in England converted into a home to a steel mill in Shanghai transformed into an eco-park to the enormous grain silo at Cape Town's old port remade into the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa. - BBC

Evidence Howard Carter Stole Some Of King Tut’s Treasure

An accusation that Carter handled property “undoubtedly stolen from the tomb” has emerged in a previously unpublished letter sent to him in 1934 by an eminent British scholar within his own excavation team. - The Guardian

America’s Best Museum Bathrooms, Ranked (Yes, This Is Real)

"A recent poll by the American Alliance of Museums asked museum professionals to submit their nominations for best museum bathrooms, and the results prove that Marcel Duchamp was only the first, but not the last, to find art in the commode."  Frankly, some of them are beauties. - Hyperallergic

Iraqi Police Say They Found A Stolen Picasso During A Drug Raid

An announcement from Iraq's Interior Ministry says that the painting, found in the possession of three suspected narcotics dealers, could be worth "millions of dollars." The statement did not say which painting it is or what condition it's in. - The National (Abu Dhabi)

Staffers At Mass MoCA Call A One-Day Strike For This Friday

"(A union official) said the museum 'has a very lowball offer on the table in terms of wages.' Two-thirds of the nearly 100 unionized museum employees make less than $15.50 an hour, which (she) described as 'far below what a living wage would be.'" - MSN (The Boston Globe)

How An AI Codes What It Sees In An Art Museum

It's "mostly strange, often comedic readings that both simplify and expand upon the artworks’ meanings." - Aeon

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