"The activist targeted (Monet's) 'Poppy Field' ..., affixing a sticker that covered about half the painting with an apocalyptic vision of the same scene. The group said it’s supposed to show what the field would look like in 2100, 'ravaged by flames and drought,' if more action isn’t taken against climate change." - AP
The project is part of a global trend of repurposing old roads and railways into places for pedestrians and wildlife. While the skywalk won’t fully open until at least the 2030s, the expressway was briefly closed off in May to give residents a taste of what it’s like to walk among skyscrapers. - Bloomberg
"The bikes — completely white, including tires, spokes and pedals — serve as stark memorials, both an alert to passers-by that a cyclist was killed and a reminder of the dangerous conditions cyclists face.” - The New York Times
One artist lost hundreds of paintings in a loft fire before the city made laws about loft safety; another says it’s not easy because “there is no super” when something goes wrong. But others say their lofts are like a “parallel universe” compared to the rampant greed they see beyond their window. - The Guardian (UK)
After being kicked out when he was 15 for saying he wanted to be an artist, “the young Aboudia pressed on and enrolled in art school. Due to a lack of financial support, he slept in his classroom after the other students went home for the day.” - BBC
Take this chance: Hugo McCloud "was eating dinner with a friend at Choice Market ... when Lauren Kelly, on her way to becoming a partner at her father Sean Kelly’s gallery, noticed McCloud’s paint-splattered pants and asked if he was an artist.” - The New York Times
Maria Balshaw, director since 2017: “I was thrilled, and then I was scared, and I think you stay scared. I still come into work feeling terrified. It takes you five or six years just to understand the institution.” - The Observer (UK)
On Friday, “over 500 activists overtook the New York museum, staging a protest in its lobby, waving Palestine flags above its glass pavilion, and unfurling a large banner from its rooftop that read ‘Free Palestine, Divest From Genocide.’” They also tagged Deborah Kass’s work OY/YO with slogans. - Hyperallergic
Dissatisfied with his paintings, he took knives and his own boots to them rather than send them to hotly anticipated Paris exhibitions, including one scheduled for 1907, which didn’t happen until 1909 for this very reason. - Artnet
"In 1913, on the last day of the history-making Armory Show, … displeased with ... Matisse’s Blue Nude (Souvenir of Biskra), the students accused 'Henry Hair Mattress' of 'artistic murder, pictorial arson, artistic rapine, total degeneracy of color, criminal misuse of line, general esthetic aberration, and contumacious abuse of title.'" - Artnet
Both art institutions and artists face existential challenges in negotiating this AI universe and its emerging financial model. Art-world experts consulted by The Art Newspaper have offered a mix of pragmatic, creative, combative and hopeful responses to the report and to the state of the AI industry. - The Art Newspaper
By interpreting buildings in horror mode, the authors unveil the systemic greed, unsustainable growth, and unchecked power embedded in their foundations. - LA Review of Books
"The house is reportedly set to cut around 50 employees based in London, and … similar layoffs may follow in New York and at other Sotheby’s locations in Europe. … Last year, Sotheby’s laid off at least 10 senior employees." - ARTnews
Most of the missing items are ancient gems and pieces of jewelry from Greece and Rome. Some were listed on eBay by the seller Sultan1966, including a piece of Roman jewelry reportedly worth £50,000 ($60,000) that was offered for a starting price of £40 ($48). - Artnet
While monuments to important figures and concepts are useful teaching tools, nothing is quite as impactful as physically confronting a space where historical tragedies have occurred. - The Urbanist
