Category: visual

Now A Yayoi Kusama Macy’s Parade Balloon (And It Doesn’t Stop There)

Some attribute the Kusama craze to the Instagram generation, with young people lining up to take selfies in the artist’s “Infinity” rooms of mirrors, colors and lights. Others say her compelling personal story as an Asian woman who first traveled alone to the United States and has openly battled her demons (she lives in a Tokyo psychiatric institution) is resonating amid today’s heightened sensitivity to issues around identity politics, immigration and mental health. – The New York Times

New Pompidou Centre Opens In Shanghai

Situated along the banks of the Huangpu River on Shanghai’s version of Museum Mile, the new outpost is a collaboration with the West Bund Group, a Chinese state-owned development corporation that together with the local government has reportedly invested more than $3 billion in recent years to transform a former industrial neighborhood into a 7-mile waterfront cultural corridor. – The New York Times

Why Contemporary Architecture Cognoscenti Like “Ugly” Buildings

“A widespread public bewilderment at the ‘Deconstructivist’ showcase buildings that they are told is great modern architecture is well known. But less well understood is that most of the Western world’s architectural academy are militantly disdainful of most popular conceptions of architectural comeliness. And this disdain extends not only to the “classical” in public and commercial buildings but equally to the average person’s ideal of a home and neighborhood.” – The American Conservative

Meet Colombia’s Grand Entrepreneur Of Graffiti

“Where the average eye sees empty and drab building walls, [Camilo Fidel] López, the founder of the graffiti artists crew Vértigo Graffiti, sees blank canvases, opportunities to colorfully further the cause of social justice, whether in his home city — the Colombian capital, Bogotá — or the rest of the world. … Not a graffiti artist himself, Mr. López plays multiple roles: art director, business manager, promoter, negotiator, lawyer, entrepreneur, festival producer, even tour guide.” – The New York Times

Thieves Use Medieval-Style Weapon To Break Into And Loot Medieval Cathedral

“Witnesses report that three suspects rammed into the cathedral in Oloron-Sainte-Marie in southwestern France with a tree trunk strapped to their car.” (Yes, a battering ram.) “Inside the church, they quickly sawed through steel bars and smashed protective glass to access silver chalices, gold objects, and other treasures from the medieval cathedral. They fled the scene in a second vehicle.” – Artnet

Figurative Art Is Hot Right Now. Is It Any Good?

Barry Schwabsky: “To my eye, the dependence on the academic method (now perhaps even unconscious, in any case not definitively marked) remains just as inhibiting a factor for contemporary painting as it was when artists like Matisse and Picasso, de Kooning and Dubuffet were finding far different ways of expressing their feelings toward the figure than classicism ever could have envisioned.” – The Nation

Prince Charles’ Charity Unwittingly Showcased Fake Monet, Dali And Picasso Works

The fakes made their way to Prince Charles’ charity HQ in a manner befitting any art forgery, from a group of Agatha Christie characters. The work was part of a 10 year loan from 37 year-old ex-billionaire James Stunt, the former husband of Formula One heiress Petra Ecclestone. A stint in a Royal domicile could potentially increase the auction price of any artwork. – Vanity Fair