Category: visual

“Last week, the country’s ministry of culture launched an open call for the design and production of the public work, which will be installed in Paris’s Tuileries Gardens, next to the Musée du Louvre.” The Representative Council of France’s Black Associations, one of the leaders of the campaign for the monument, says that “the artist chosen must be of African descent.” – Artnet

Buyers demand discounts of as much as 30% on new works and 50% on the secondary market, according to art dealers. Temporary reprieve, including government rescue loans or rent reductions, will go away. And art fairs, one of the largest sources of revenue for galleries, aren’t coming back soon. – Bloomberg

Marc Spiegler: “Fortunately, the Amazon art world won’t come to pass. For one thing, artworks are unique, and thus not so easily commodified. They have no utility value, no truly provable worth, no strict comparables. All of which makes buying art an act of trust. It goes both ways, too, because galleries build the reputation of their artists by selling to great collections, while avoiding the speculators who might rapidly “flip” works into auction.” – Financial Times

The five protesters were stopped before they could leave the Quai Branly Museum with the artwork. They were detained for questioning, and the Paris prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into group theft of objects of cultural heritage. – Washington Post (AP)

Attracting visitors was not the problem Emilie Gordenker thought she’d be facing when she became director of one of Amsterdam’s most popular museums in February. A profile in the Dutch national newspaper NRC Handelsblad at the time heralded her move from the tranquil Mauritshuis Royal Picture Gallery in the Hague to the Van Gogh Museum with the headline, “It Will Never Be Quiet in the Museum Again.” Famous last words. – The New York Times

The dealer, who operated galleries in London and Miami, has been the subject of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Joint Major Theft Task Force/Art Crime Team in New York. A U.S. citizen, he is believed to have been living as a fugitive on Vanuatu since October. – The New York Times

“Police shootings? I can’t imagine what special insight a museum director brings to the subject. But if you’re going to talk about them, at least say something smart.” – National Review

Southern California museums are navigating complicated health and safety protocols while also seeing to the regular work of preparing new exhibitions, caring for art, managing employees and communicating with the public. – Los Angeles Times

Museums have an opportunity to make a contribution to civic discourse that plays to their intrinsic strengths. It is obvious that many of our political and civic institutions have failed in the promotion of the interests of humanity and the planet. We are entering a period where questioning the status quo ante and its values and priorities is of existential importance. – The Art Newspaper

The themes of racial (in)equality and (in)justice that are now starting to get the attention they deserve have been material for Faith Ringgold for her entire career. Yet, faced with the death of her husband this winter and the coronavirus epidemic, this prolific 89-year-old artist found herself creatively paralyzed. Then George Floyd was murdered, the nation erupted in outrage, and Ringgold got back to work. – The New York Times