ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

VISUAL

Great Book Covers You’ll Never See (And Why)

Ultimately, when you see a book cover in a store or online, you’re really just seeing the tip of the iceberg. Because at most of the really big imprints, that cover probably went through the ringer. - Fast Company

The Trafficking Of Looted Syrian Art Is Helping Finance ISIS

"A 2019 study … found that from just two sites of the over 5,000 under their control, the Islamic State looted an estimated $20 million worth of the country’s cultural heritage. … Because these crimes rarely involve average citizens ..., the perpetrators largely evade public scrutiny." - USC Annenberg Media

The Musée d’Orsay Has Set Up An AI-Powered Vincent Van Gogh To Chat With Visitors

Yes, it's making some typical AI-powered factual mistakes. And yes, visitors keep asking it why it committed suicide. - The New York Times

With Crowds Coming For The 2024 Olympics, The Louvre Raises Its Ticket Price

"Admission will rise from €17 to €22, the first hike of its kind since 2017. Per a statement from the Louvre on Friday, the new price will offset rising expenses related to energy and help fund free entry for visitors under 18, students, and journalists." - ARTnews

Date Announced For Reopening Of Notre Dame

The date was confirmed by the French President Emmanuel Macron during a visit to the site on 8 December, according to the French newspaper Le Monde. - The Art Newspaper

One Of Britain’s Parliament Buildings Has Severe Structural Failings

Rain is coming into MPs' offices, but the real risk is that the atrium's glass dome might just ... fall in. - The Observer (UK)

The Radical Art Group Who Smuggled Left-Wing Messages Into Network TV

Artist and CalArts professor Mel Chin "had to pull off something like an art heist in reverse. Instead of stealing art from a well-guarded museum, Chin wanted to smuggle art onto the set of one of the most popular television shows in the world." - Slate

A World Map With No Borders, Only Animals

The artist started work on this during lockdown in July, 2020. "Three years, approximately 2,602 working hours and 1,642 animal species later, “Wild World” is a hand-drawn map of our planet that both inspires and celebrates wonder." - The New York Times

A Melbourne Gallery Drops An Artist Because Of Words In His Artwork

The words "Nazi" and "Israel" appeared next to each other in performance artist Mike Parr's work, says his longtime gallery owner, Anna Schwartz. Parr also said that "Israel is an apartheid state and a tragedy for Jews everywhere." - The Guardian (UK)

The Noguchi Museum Board Picks A Director Who Was There At The Beginning

Amy Hau "set up first archives and built the collection records for more than 3,500 works, including sculptures in stone, metal, wood and clay, drawings, models and designs." - The New York Times

The Architects Who Believe In Reduce And Reuse, But For Buildings

"The French architects Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal are famous for their belief in keeping existing buildings whenever possible, no matter how unpromising or unloved they may be." - The Guardian (UK)

Rediscovering Surrealist Painter Leonor Fini

Why was Fini, who was part of the first major surrealist exhibitions, ignored for so long? André Breton, of course. He "would not have a woman be a Surrealist. In his view, women were muses." - NPR

Sometimes, You Just Need A Dutch Master In Order To Chill

"It was embarrassing to want excitement, but never more than when looking at a Ruisdael did I realize how wholly I was a creature of the age of entertainment." - The Guardian (UK)

The Latest Turner Prize Winner Blames Margaret Thatcher For Cuts To The Arts

But that's just inaccurate, and misses the point. "There are plenty of people, elected and non-elected, who are far more deserving of our ire when it comes to the arts right now." - The Observer (UK)

The Best Book Covers Of 2023

Right, don't judge a book by its cover, but go ahead and judge the covers. - The New York Times

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');