Category: visual

How to do Day of the Dead safely – especially since it’s so large this year as many Mexican Americans, many of them essential workers, have died? “The most beloved celebration in Los Angeles takes place every year at Self-Help Graphics & Art in Boyle Heights. Betty Avila, executive director of Self-Help, said there was no doubt that the venerated arts organization would hold an event — in some form — this year. The customary art exhibit is now virtual, and the group is leading a drive-by caravan today for Día de los Muertos at Grand Park.” – Los Angeles Times

Millions and millions of pilgrims have made their way to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. They’re not usually there for the art history of the place. Meanwhile, the stonemason’s selfie “has looked down on them from the top of one of the many pillars that soar upwards, each decorated with carved foliage, among which he is concealed.” – The Observer (UK)

But only the Baltimore Museum caught so much grief that it “paused” its sale. The Brooklyn Museum? Well, its sales were “almost $20 million for seven works by artists including Henri Matisse, Joan Miró and Claude Monet.” What’s up with the tale of two museums? – The New York Times

For instance, the Guggenheim’s audio guide, “Mind’s Eye,” was designed for the blind and low-vision community. Now it’s also serving the sighted people who miss the musuem. “It’s a vivid escape for those of us stuck inside during the pandemic.” – NPR

In an open slap at protesters who took down statues they considered to be celebratory of racism, colonialism, and sexism, Trump’s National Endowment for the Humanities is giving money to rebuild or repair three toppled statues. – The New York Times

Even before the silent spring of 2020, a growing number of sellers beyond the art world had already converted to the wisdom of subscription e-commerce. After all, why force your business to secure an endless string of one-off transactions with an ever-shifting consumer base in an uncertain market if you can lock in recurring revenue with a core group of faithfully committed clients? – Artnet

According to three sources close to the museum, managers took the decision to discipline Mark Godfrey, a senior curator of international art, after he raised objections on social media to the deferral of Philip Guston: Now, a major show which was due to include around 125 paintings and 70 drawings from 40 public and private collections. – The Art Newspaper

“Researchers surveying a temple in Japan’s Shiga Prefecture … used infrared photography to identify soot-obscured paintings [of eight Buddhist saints] on two pillars in the Saimyoji temple in Kora, about 40 miles northeast of Kyoto.” – Smithsonian Magazine

“I don’t think we need “new” art. The arts professionals that have been protesting in the streets and sending out declarations on social media are calling for institutional changes, not new aesthetic movements. They want to cut through the pieties that circulate in academia and arts institutions about art as a calling because they are struggling for survival in a milieu that pays lip service to high-minded values but is perversely unequal in its distribution of resources.” – Hyperallergic

“Amid huge global demand for second world war memorabilia, museums in Ossendrecht, in north Brabant, and in Beek, Limburg, have been ransacked in recent days and months. In response, a series of Dutch institutions have removed their most valuable exhibits from display or implemented stricter security measures over fears that the thefts are being carried to order.” – The Guardian