ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

VISUAL

What Is The Pritzker Prize Going To Do About Tom Pritzker’s Ties To Jeffrey Epstein?

Looks like nothing except defend the jury’s independence — and say that “the announcement of the next laureate, which typically occurs in the first week of March, would be delayed slightly.” - The New York Times

Britain’s National Gallery Deficits Shouldn’t Be Taken Out On The Country’s Public

Or so says The Guardian: “Culture is not a luxury. It is vital to the country’s wellbeing, tourism and international standing.” - The Guardian (UK)

A Tiny Museum In San Francisco That’s More Like A Giant Time Capsule

The museum “covers the entire history of city parks within a 6-by-10-foot room. … Because the museum capacity is five people and the pent-up demand goes back 130 years, the opening was intentionally kept soft.” - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)

South Africa Has Pulled Out Of The Venice Biennale

“The move comes after the country’s right-wing culture minister Gayton McKenzie scrapped a pavilion proposal by artist Gabrielle Goliath and curator Ingrid Masondo.” They said, “The space will remain empty: a space of erasure, cancellation, censure.” - Hyperallergic

Bow To Trump’s Vision Of The Country If You Want A Grant, Museums And Libraries Are Told

“The directive to hew to Trump’s preferences unnerved some grant writers, reviewers and former recipients accustomed to nonpartisanship from the agency, stirring debate over what it would mean to accept their funding.” - Washington Post (MSN)

How Trump Gamed Approval For His Ballroom

“It’s sad that a majority of the commissioners lack expertise in art and architecture,” the person told CNN. “There is only one architect, yet he recused himself from reviewing the ballroom. This means that not a single architect will be reviewing the White House project." - CNN

Commercialization Of Frida Kahlo Has Gone Way Too Far, Says Her Grandniece

There is by now an untold variety of Frida merch, from watches to candles to tequila to home décor to a branded Miami condo building to (yes) sanitary pads. One reason is that Kahlo’s family members have lost control of the corporation which controls rights to her likeness and work. - The Times (UK)

Architectural Drawings Of Trump’s Planned White House East Wing Released

“The drawings picture the East Wing volume extending well into the White House lawn. At roughly 90,000 square feet, its footprint is more than twice the size of the previous East Wing building, which is now fully demolished. … The documentation includes site plans, building plans, elevations, landscape drawings and renders.” - Dezeen

Why Does Bernini’s Beloved Elephant Sculpture In Rome Keep Losing The Tip Of Its Tusk?

Because people keep knocking it off — most recently, this past weekend, when police found the four-inch marble fragment from the left tusk on the pavement nearby. - AP

V&A Museum Acquires First-Ever YouTube Video

“The V&A has acquired a reconstructed early webpage and the first video ever uploaded to the platform by co-founder Jawed Karim,” a V&A spokesperson said. - CNN

Judy Chicago Walks Away From “Nightmare” Google Project

The celebrated visual artist Judy Chicago has walked away from a major commission at Google’s headquarters project in the Loop, comparing an aspect of working with the tech giant as “a nightmare.” - Chicago Sun-Times

Saudi Arabia Commissions World’s Largest Mural, Which It Hopes Will Be Visible From Space

The job — to create a painting 50,000 square meters large, roughly the size of nine football fields, in the Saudi capital, Riyadh — has gone to New York-based artist Domingo Zapata, who is reportedly getting an “unlimited budget.” - Page Six

Louvre’s No. 2 Official Says Ticket Fraud Is “Inevitable” At Large Museums

“Which museum in the world, with this level of attendance,” said Louvre general administrator Kim Pham, “would not at certain moments have some issues of fraud?” (He would not, however, name another museum with a similar problem.) - AP

Architect Oscar Niemeyer’s Final Building Was A Diner In Leipzig

The great Brazilian modernist, best-known for the futuristic government buildings in Brasilia, had recently turned 103 when he drew the first sketch for what’s now called the Niemeyer Sphere. When he died almost a year later, he hadn’t finalized the design, but there were enough sketches and specifications to complete it. - The Guardian

The Cultural Debate About Wall Texts

“When curators withhold information about the works and the artists, they are reinforcing their own curatorial approach, which is a contradiction. Decontextualizing and dehistoricizing is practically a colonialist act.”  - Hyperallergic

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