Category: visual

Three years ago, the invention of Vantablack, a carbon nanotube coating that absorbs up to 99.965% of all light, made headlines, especially when artist Anish Kapoor acquired exclusive rights to its use in artworks, infuriating other artists. Now MIT scientists have discovered — by accident, they say — a carbon nanotube material that absorbs 99.99% of light. And to demonstrate, they’ve coated a $2 million yellow diamond with the stuff. (Meanwhile, BMW has made a car coated with Vantablack.) – Newsweek

Some are dubious of the so-called Vine Art Movement. “Equating wine with art flatters the people who buy wine into thinking they’re participating in something larger than they are,” said James Conaway, the author of “Napa at Last Light.” And there have been some spectacular busts: Copia, an ambitious museum dedicated to wine, food and the arts, opened to much fanfare in 2001 then closed in 2008. – The New York Times

The Amsterdam Museum said on Thursday that staff were banned from using the term to describe the 17th century because “the term is strongly associated with national pride because of prosperity and peace but ‘ignores the many negative sides of the 17th century, such as poverty, war, forced labor and human trafficking.'” There’s blowback, of course, and national pride, but the museum is sticking to its principles. – Deutsche Welle (AP)

Maurizio Cattelan, whose gold toilet called America was ripped from its pipes in Blenheim Palace, flooding the palace and causing rather a lot of damage, says that he didn’t steal it, despite his history of pranks (including stealing artwork). “Some sceptics have been slow to accept the theft at face value, with the memory of Banksy shredding his famous Girl With a Balloon still fresh in the mind of the art world.” – The Guardian (UK)

Of course it does. “With its time-sequence ticketing and Sensorio-branded hoodies for sale, Field of Light joins a coterie of art entertainments at wineries and related establishments seeking to infuse culture into viticulture — what has been called the Vine Art Movement.” – The New York Times

Oh, you thought it was just painting collections, or the sculpture garden? Nope: “Gender bias in favor of males extends to fossil and museum collections of mammals.” – Hyperallergic

Though a man has been arrested “in connection with” the burglary, Maurizio Cattelan’s artwork hasn’t yet been recovered. “The golden lavatory, named America, drew large crowds when it was exhibited in New York. It had been installed in a wood-panelled chamber opposite the room where Churchill was born.” – The Observer (UK)

Taylor’s sundial sculpture Timepiece has been used – or, as she thinks of it, co-opted – by a pro-Brexit party called the Time Party, who are using it both on their website and in their merchandise. Taylor said, “I was bloody livid when I found out. … Quite frankly it feels like my work is being manipulated without my permission.” – The Observer (UK)

The painting, by Daniel Buren, is described as “a cotton canvas with white and red vertical stripes,” and the attacker was being held for psychiatric evaluation. – BBC

“The ancient city of Hasankeyf, which sits on the banks of the Tigris River in southeastern Turkey, is believed to be one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited settlements.” Yet it could be flooded within weeks as work continues on the long-controversial Ilisu dam project. – Smithsonian Magazine