ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

VISUAL

How Others See Us, How We See Ourselves

Historical photos from San Francisco's Chinatown show the differences between the way Chinese Americans were portrayed in the media during the era of the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the dignity and humanity with which they decided to present themselves. - Hyperallergic

Film Canisters, 3000 Of Them, With Hidden Secrets And Portraits Of Musicians

The images "are the stuff of history: a rare window into the late 1960s, when one of the country’s first rock ballrooms, the legendary Boston Tea Party, helped launch" hundreds of bands, including the Velvet Underground and Jimi Hendrix. - Boston Globe

The Met Museum Chooses A Mexico City Architect To Design The New Modern And Contemporary Wing

Frida Escobedo "is a surprising choice for such a major assignment, given that she is relatively young, has mostly designed temporary structures and is not a household name. But she said she felt undaunted and excited by the task." - The New York Times

A Russian-Owned Art Auction House In London Faces A Boycott

Phillips donated £5.8m to the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, and its CEO condemned the Russian invasion. But "those calling for the company to be shunned argue that only a boycott will force its Russian business figures ... to put pressure on the Kremlin." - The Guardian (UK)

The Idea Of A Museum Is At A Crisis Point

Museums may say they're change agents, "but in doubling down on sheer acquisition at the same time, they risk committing themselves to a future that never comes to pass." - The Nation

The Digital Attempts To Save Ukrainian Heritage

There's a group at work even during heavy Russian bombardments - “a group of cultural heritage professionals – librarians, archivists, researchers, programmers – working together to identify and archive at-risk sites, digital content, and data in Ukrainian cultural heritage institutions." - Open Culture

Museums Protest Russia’s War, But Rich Buyers Keep Buying Russian

The art world rarely wades so publicly into political upheaval, but the war in Ukraine is striking a nerve, particularly among museums in Europe that are located geographically nearest to the fighting. - The Wall Street Journal

Artists Band Together To Bring The ERA Back Into The Spotlight

The Equal Rights Amendment, again? Yep. A new campaign "brings together a who’s who of creatives. ... The ultimate hope? To use the power of art to tell stories and rally people so that women can, at long last, get equal billing in the U.S. Constitution." - Fast Company

The Director Of Kyiv’s Art Museum Takes Steps To Preserve Art And Artifacts

Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta is the director of the Mystetskyi Arsenal National Art and Culture Museum Complex in Kyiv. "It doesn't feel very safe, as you can imagine," she says. - CBC

A Man Forced His Way Into MoMA And Stabbed Two Employees

The suspect had had his membership revoked because of recent unruly incidents. He jumped over the counter and stabbed the employees, who at press time were in stable condition at Bellevue. - The New York Times

Last Summer Alone, Authorities Seized Nearly 10,000 Looted Artifacts

"International law enforcement authorities in 28 countries executing the latest phase of Operation Pandora, an international crackdown on illegal cultural goods trafficking, seized 9,408 cultural artifacts between June and September last year." - Artnet

Scientists Turn To Bacteria To Clean Michelangelo Sculpture

Scientists tested 11 strains of bacteria on marble before it was decided that three non-toxic varieties would be the most effective for Michelangelo’s masterpiece. Serratia ficaria, a bacterium that causes urinary tract infections, managed to remove dirt from the tomb in two days. - The Guardian

The First Comprehensive Encyclopedia Of Indian Art Is About To Arrive (And It’s Written For Regular Folks, Not Academics)

The open-source online project — started by Bangalore's Museum of Art and Photography, with entries written by Indian experts — will include textiles and craft arts as well as painting, sculpture, and photography and will range from ancient work to the 2010s. - The New York Times

Ukrainian Sculptor From Berlin Stays In Lviv To Help Build Anti-Tank Defenses

Volo Bevza and several others have set themselves up in a metal workshop to build steel tank obstacles called "hedgehogs," which look like small Mark di Suvero sculptures. - Hyperallergic

Is Having Two Museum Directors Better Than Having One?

“There’s a lot of structural change underway and nobody knows where this is going. I think there’s a strong desire from all the actors to rethink how these institutions should run.” - Artnet

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