Category: visual

The tradition, which has been focused in Japan but spread out from there via the internet (of course), gets people wearing “costumes” like “just got out of bed and grabbed the first thing I saw to spray a roach with.” This is, perhaps, a great thing. “Philosophers interested in the ‘aesthetics of the everyday’ argue that the way we think about aesthetics is too focused on heightened ideas of beauty. In fact, they point out, repetitive tasks like chores, unremarkable objects like trash cans and diapers, and common interactions between family members and neighbors can all be considered to possess ‘aesthetics.'” – Slate

He wasn’t president for long (31 days, actually), but during that time, he sported his (then famous) sword from the (then famous) Battle of Tippecanoe. In 1979, it was stolen from the Connecticut Historical Society. The sword – or maybe a copy, the owner claims! – went up for auction and was promptly seized. But whose sword is it? – The New York Times

The Nomura Award is in its inaugural year, and it gives $1 million to a living artist. Salcedo won “for her body of work produced over the last 25 years, which has focused on the human cost of the conflict between successive governments and rebel groups in Colombia” and has included melting weapons from 7,000 former fighters into tiles for an exhibition space in Bogotá. – The New York Times

It used to be magazines and the Photoshopping that went into making cover models and celebrities look even thinner and more “perfect” than they already are. But this time it’s regular people on Instagram. – The New York Times

Malevich lived and worked in Belorus – and “for 25 years [this painting] has been on display in the city of Hrodna, near the Polish border, with the label: Malevich?” But does Belorus finally have its own, or is it simply from his studio? – BBC

“Clients are asking for storage for paintings, art, design, antiques and collectibles but we’ve also been moving large scale bronze as well as marble garden sculpture into storage.” – The Art Newspaper

“The first major touring exhibition of artifacts from King Tut’s tomb was a product of financial necessity. In 1961, archaeological sites in Egypt were in danger of flooding and the country needed funds to protect them. Over the next 5 years, more than 30 objects from Tut’s tomb toured 18 cities across the United States and Canada. A slightly enlarged show opened in Japan in 1965. Through 1981, Tut artifacts were nearly always on the road, touring from Moscow to London, from Paris to Berlin.” – Artsy

“When the museum reopened last year, Aline Nyirahumure, who is from Rwanda and runs the African cultural center Kuumba in Brussels, was not impressed. Much of the money went into a new building that includes auditoriums for educational events as well as a gift shop and restaurant.
Much else has barely changed.” – Los Angeles Times

On Wednesday the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art announced Sandra Jackson-Dumont as its new director and chief executive officer. She comes to L.A. from New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, where since 2014 she has headed education and public programs. – Los Angeles Times

“Unpaid overtime, precarious contracts, working hours so antisocial your only friends are people who do the same job … after a minimum of seven years’ education and professional training, the reality of working as an architect can be a bleak prospect. It’s not hard to see why so many of them wear black, as if in permanent mourning for the lives they once had.” – The Guardian