ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

VISUAL

The Owl Who Got Stuck In A Big Typewriter Eraser

In early October, an injured barred owl was found in the National Gallery's iconic Typewriter Eraser, Scale X, by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. - Washington Post

The Famous ‘Painted Bride’ Mural In Philly Is Being Destroyed

"It took Zagar nine years to complete the 7,000-square-foot mosaic in the 1990s that defined his eclectic style. But today, after five years of fighting to save it, preservationists only have weeks to salvage as many one-of-a-kind tiles as they can." - Hyperallergic

The Caribbean Women Trying To Keep Seed Art Alive

"Practised for centuries in the twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, ... seed work began among enslaved African women forcibly brought to the islands" - and there are less than a handful of artists working now. - The Guardian (UK)

AI Isn’t Truly ‘Generative,’ And Firms Are Being Sued For The Artwork They Stole

Er, that is, the very real human work they "scraped." - The Observer (UK)

Right Wing Journalist Nominated To Lead Venice Biennale

Since coming to power last fall, Italy’s far-right leader Giorgia Meloni and her party the Fratelli d’Italia have been installing right-leaning candidates into leadership positions in the culture sector. - Artnet

Tate Modern Reopens Its Controversial Panoramic Viewing Platform

The rooftop viewing gallery was designed to give panoramic views of the city, and it opened in 2016. It quickly became the subject of controversy after visitors began peering into the glass-walled, luxury apartments opposite and, in some cases, taking invasive snaps for Instagram.  - Artnet

Italy Has Another Leaning Tower, And It Has Scientists Very Worried

"The (Garisenda Tower in Bologna) already leans at an angle of four degrees — only slightly less than the renowned five-degree tilt of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Now, the detection of ‘anomalous oscillations’ has prompted road closures around the structure to allow for detailed monitoring of potential instability." - Euronews

Artforum’s Editor-In-Chief Fired Following Open Letter About Gaza War

"A week after Artforum published a widely criticized open letter calling for Palestinian liberation that didn’t mention the Hamas attacks on Israel, editor-in-chief David Velasco has been fired" by the magazine's owners, Penske Media. - TheWrap

Museum of Censored Art Opens In Barcelona

"The Museu de l’Art Prohibit … aims to explain how censorship works by exhibiting artworks that have been subject to prohibitions (successful or merely attempted), and detailed documentation on how and why administrations, religious or cultural authorities have sought to curtail artistic expression." - MSN (The Telegraph)

The Director Who Transformed Boston’s Institute Of Contemporary Art Announces Retirement

Jill Medvedow, who in 1998 took over a small museum in a former police station with 20,000 visitors a year and turned it into a major institution in a new 65,000-square-foot building with 300,000 visitors a year, will step down at the end of 2024. - MSN (The Boston Globe)

A Crisis Of Art Criticism

The reasons for the stepchild status of criticism are as manifold as are their concatenations, not the least of which is the problem of identifying a shared idea or point of orientation when it comes to the practice. - Eurozine

Dutch Architecture Has Been Getting Greener. But Also More Boring?

Without getting overly nostalgic, it is almost impossible not to notice that the country, which for a good two decades on either side of the millennium produced some of the most striking, innovative and experimental architecture in the world, is now building a lot of boxes. - Dezeen

Where Did The Looted Sculptures Recently Returned To Nepal Go? This 11th-Century Monastery

Itumbaha, one of the oldest monasteries in Kathmandu, has not only received statues returned from the Rubin Museum and the Met. The Rubin is helping Itumbaha to catalog hundreds of items that have languished in storage there and to open a museum for them on the monastery's grounds. - CNN

Dallas Museum Of Art Lays Off 20 Employees And Reduces Opening Hours

The redundancies, along with closing the museum to the public on Tuesdays as well as Mondays, come as the DMA plans over $200 million in capital projects, including a major building expansion as well as major upgrades to security, electrical, HVAC, and fire suppression systems. - MSN (The Dallas Morning News)

I Reviewed The Most Popular Artist On Social Media. His Followers Came After Me. Here’s What I Learned.

Devon Rodriguez, known for his live drawings of subway riders, has millions of fans on Instagram and TikTok. Ben Davis reviewed Rodriguez's first solo show (whose opening was covered by CNN), and Rodriguez sicced his fans on Davis — who says this all "raises some larger issues worth thinking about." - Artnet

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');