ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

VISUAL

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

Australia’s Rural Churches Are Being Snapped Up For Housing

Those who buy the churches, for housing or co-working spaces or workshops or galleries, sometimes find it hard to get work done as all of the locals stop by to talk about history. - The Guardian (UK)

Why Did Canada’s Luminato Festival Abruptly Cancel A Highly Anticipated Indigenous Work?

"Two months after cancellation, the collective calls what happened at Luminato 'disrespectful and unethical.' The artists describe a difficult rehearsal process marred by poor communication, lack of support and disrespect." - Toronto Star

Lost Banksy Reappears In A Tel Aviv Art Gallery

"Slingshot Rat, a stencil painting, appeared on a concrete block at an abandoned Israeli army position in Bethlehem next to a section of the wall in 2007." It was then graffitied, and finally cut out by ... someone. - The Guardian (UK) (AP)

Our Free Newsletter

Join our 30,000 subscribers

Latest

Don't Miss

function my_excerpt_length($length){ return 200; } add_filter('excerpt_length', 'my_excerpt_length');