Archives for January 2007

Looks like Time magazine is planning a new art and architecture blog by critic Richard Lacayo. Lots of ArtsJournal-ites, including CultureGrrl, are on the blogroll (of course). Right now the test entries are all in Latin, but I'm sure he'll learn English soon. Here's part of his blog description: What I won't be reporting on is parties, gallery openings or gossip. If you like … [Read more...] about New Art Blog for Time Magazine?

Approach with caution: Like everything else from Wikipedia, there may be some errors here. But listed all in one place is a voluminous compilation of known big-money painting sales, both public and private, naming prices, sellers and buyers. Apparently the Wikipedians know that David Martinez bought the $140-million Jackson Pollock. Thank goodness we've finally got THAT … [Read more...] about Wiki’s Wacky List of the World’s Most Expensive Paintings

Having just spent four early-morning minutes talking on the radio about the "money-no-object" collector (a topic about which I still plan to blog), I experienced as a welcome tonic an article in today's Christian Science Monitor about a new plan to get art into the hands of the "no money for objects" collector---the art lover who wants to enjoy quality work at home, but can't … [Read more...] about Adopt an Artwork—For Free

Have I mastered the art of the sound bite? Click below for my lightning-quick take on the state of the art market, aired early this morning (too early!) on New York Public Radio (WNYC). I'm not responsible for my host's comment about Sotheby's sales "doubling." Actually, North American sales were up 52 percent last year; worldwide sales up 36 percent. But never contradict your … [Read more...] about CultureGrrl’s 4 Minutes of Radio Stardom

As described yesterday by the "Felcholino" duo of the LA Times, the procedure by which the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1988 acquired the 5th century B.C. "Cult Statue of a Goddess" (possibly Aphrodite), now claimed by Italy, may seem ethically deficient by today's standards. But it was standard practice at the time: American museums would customarily contact possible source … [Read more...] about The Getty’s Goddess: Acquired on the “No News is Good News” Principle

If all goes according to plan, you can hear CultureGrrl's alter ego, Lee Rosenbaum, in a brief live phone interview on New York Public Radio (WNYC)'s "Morning Edition," tomorrow at the ungodly hour of 7:30 a.m. Am I allowed to wear my bathrobe for this? If you're a night owl like me, please don't bother to get up: If I sound reasonably coherent, I'll post the link to my … [Read more...] about CultureGrrl on New York Public Radio

(Part I is here.) It could be that the husband-wife duo of Ms. Diller and Ricardo Scofidio were chastened by being chosen: "We're intensely interested in the museum as an institution -- what it means," Ms. Diller noted. "As artists, we intervened in that system, sometimes aggressively. All of a sudden, we're asked to define that wall entirely. This is a time when someone like … [Read more...] about My Article on the Boston ICA in Today’s WSJ—Part II

As you know, I can't link to the Wall Street Journal's subscribers-only site, but I AM allowed to post the text of my article. I'll again do it in two parts, so as not to tax the short attention spans of hyperactive blog readers. (It's on today's "Leisure & Arts" page, D10, for those of you who still turn pages, instead of clicking hyperlinks. Online WSJ subscribers can find it … [Read more...] about My Article on the Boston ICA in Today’s WSJ—Part I

CultureGrrl told you more than a month ago that MoMA was talking to real estate developers who wanted to buy MoMA-owned land adjacent to the museum. They were discussing "the possibility of constructing a mixed-use building that would combine private commercial functions with more space for MoMA, probably to be used as galleries," I reported then. Now the deal's been … [Read more...] about MoMA Sells Its Plot and Plots New Galleries

Linda Sandler of Bloomberg today reported Sotheby's year-end auction totals. Worldwide sales in 2006 totaled $3.66 billion, compared to $2.69 billion in 2005; Sales in North America were $1.84 billion and $1.21 billion, respectively. Go to Sotheby's website for more detailed breakdowns---by month and by geographical area, as well as totals for individual sales. You can find … [Read more...] about More Details on Sotheby’s Year-End Sales Totals

On Friday the Wall Street Journal published six examples from what must have been an outpouring of letters from blog defenders, responding to the Dec. 20 anti-blog screed by Joseph Rago, the WSJ's assistant editorial features editor (discussed by CultureGrrl here). The WSJ's Letters editor captured the spirit of the exasperated correspondents with this headline: Print This: … [Read more...] about WSJ’s Blog Flogger Is Flogged Back

CultureGrrl didn't make Tyler's list of Top Ten Art Blogs this year. Guess I'll just have to try harder. And I thought I was a contender! Walker Off Center (where Tyler's list was published): Please have a look at this rookie. Do you have any designations for Best New Art Blogger? … [Read more...] about CultureGrrl Must Be Number 11

I looked at my blog last night and saw that the font gremlins had somehow transformed all the type of every post (except for my most recent one) into boldface. This is a real problem, because the only way I distinguish long quotes is by rendering them in boldface (rather than in quotations). This already caused some confusion for Regina Hackett, art critic of the Seattle … [Read more...] about First CultureGrrl Glitch of the New Year

I made a list and checked it twice: art stories that raised questions in 2006, which need to be answered in 2007. Here's a mischievous list of hypothetical New Year's resolutions by 10 artworld players who have been naughty or insufficiently nice: Malcolm Rogers: I will hire more guards for the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and see to it that they are better trained. Ronald … [Read more...] about Artworld Luminaries’ 2007 Resolutions

… [Read more...] about COMING NEXT: ARTWORLD LUMINARIES’ 2007 RESOLUTIONS