Category: visual

Phil Kennicott: “The work done by these contemporary portraits is more fundamental. They are about seeing other people, rather than saving them. We are challenged simply to accept their existence as part of our world, no lesser or greater in importance than our own existence, which is the first and most daunting ethical challenge faced by every human being.” – Washington Post

“The large number of arrests and objects seized hints at the massive scale and global reach of the international trade in illicit artifacts,” says Tess Davis, executive director of the Antiquities Coalition, an American nonprofit dedicated to fighting cultural theft. “It demonstrates that such cultural racketeering is not limited to conflict zones in Iraq and Syria, but threatens any country with a rich heritage.” – Artnet

“I feel very disappointed about the way my sculpture is treated, with nothing but contempt and not the appreciation that should be, since Charging Bull became one of the most visited attractions of New York City,” said Arturo Di Modica. – Artnet

Says Max Hollein, “Art cannot solely be perceived in regard to its beauty and craftsmanship. You also have to evaluate it in light of its political messages. … If you have one of the greatest collections you almost have an obligation to recontextualize it in regard to the narratives it provides. I want to make sure it’s not only one voice but multiple voices.” – The New York Times

“Pierre and Danielle Le Guennec were first given two-year suspended terms in 2015 after being convicted of possession of stolen goods over the huge trove of works by Picasso, including nine rare Cubist collages and a work from his famous Blue Period. That verdict was upheld in 2016 by a higher court but then quashed by the Cour de Cassation, which ordered a retrial. The former electrician, 80, and his wife, 76, were not in court Tuesday when they were found guilty for a third time.” – Yahoo! (AFP)

These changes are symptomatic of several wider cultural shifts that, in combination with rising costs and declining public funding, are ‘squeezing’ the low-to-mid end of the market: the rise of a global elite, art fairs, ‘mega-galleries’ and the commodification of art as the sector became more closely intertwined with fashion, celebrity culture and advertising. – Arts Professional

The textile is long-considered a major cultural icon both in France and England. In light of Christopher Norton’s findings, one news source trumpets that the tapestry is definitely French — a conclusion that pierces as “an arrow in the eye” to some British historians. – The Conversation

National Museum Cardiff has put on display a painting of a Madonna and child that had for decades been dismissed as a crude copy of Botticelli’s style. Ironically, it had been thought a Botticelli by the collector, Gwendoline Davies, who bequeathed it in 1952. Experts soon began to doubt that and downgraded it to the status of copy. – The Guardian

General Jean-Louis Georgelin, a brusque army man appointed by President Macron to oversee the reconstruction of the fire-damaged cathedral, was speaking to the cultural affairs committee of the National Assembly when he said of chief architect Philippe Villeneuve, “Je lui ai déjà expliqué qu’il ferme sa gueule” (roughly, “I’ve already explained to him that he should shut his fat trap”). The genuinely horrified legislators strongly rebuked the general and suspended further meetings on the subject. – Yahoo! (AFP)

“Last November, French President Emmanuel Macron commissioned a report recommending the repatriation of looted African cultural objects from France’s public collections, spurring a national debate. But one year later, no objects have been returned to the areas from which they were taken. Now, an organization is stepping in to facilitate the process. The Open Society Foundations, an international grant-making organization founded by billionaire George Soros, has launched a four year, $15 million initiative to aid in restitution efforts.” – artnet