Category: visual

“Art spaces … are doing their part to meet the needs of medical professionals, packing up crates of gloves typically used to protect artworks from oil and dust on the hands of those touching artworks and sending off coveted N95 respirators that protect front-line health care workers from the virus.” – ARTnews

The nearly 150-year-old school, which counts Ansel Adams, Richard Diebenkorn, and Dorothea Lange as former faculty, says that it can’t continue to operate in the near term unless it joins a larger and more stable institution. Administrators expect to cancel all fall semester classes. Students graduating this spring will get their degrees; others are being strongly encouraged to transfer elsewhere. – San Francisco Chronicle

Two years ago this was a hot idea as a way of expanding the art market. You could own shares in works of art. But then bitcoin value cratered and things have stalled… – The Art Newspaper

According to a report by Le Parisien, two men face charges for allegedly attempting to steal various stones from the cathedral after the government ordered a pause on reconstruction so as to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. A spokesperson for Notre-Dame told the publication that the thieves likely intended to sell the stones on the black market. – Artnet

“After the city sought to reintroduce normal activity, a wave of new coronavirus cases hit, largely due to returning travelers. The reversal offers a cautionary tale to countries around the world that are eager to ease restrictions on social distancing practices and get business moving back on pace.” – Artnet

When fire, smoke, and water pumped in for more than 20 hours ripped through the archives at the Museum of the Chinese in America in late January, the staff thought all of the more than 85,000 pieces were lost. But “on March 8, about 20 workers wearing hard hats and gas masks passed more than 2,000 boxes filled with the beloved archives from one person to the next, down the building’s fire escape and into a truck.” Now (as soon as it’s safe to do the work) it’s preservation and sorting time. – The New York Times

Ten picks from the NYT include podcasts from curators, artists, and critics in Los Angeles, London, Australia, Canada, Italy, and more. – The New York Times

In addition, as a huge show in London is suspended because of the COVID-19 outbreak, he says, “Cultural institutions are probably the last to be damaged, but the first to show how severely this can affect our understanding about art and culture, which reflect tragic human moments like this. It is very hard to predict the future, but it seems like the situation is not going to be easily resolved and will have a strong impact. All the factors that allowed for this incident still remain the same – this could happen again – and a more thoughtful response in terms of social structure and the philosophical understanding of this situation is required.” – The Guardian (UK)

Founded by a playwright, the Social Distancing Festival has, not surprisingly, already gotten hundreds of submissions, with more coming by the minute. – BBC

Luisa Roldán revolutionized the use of terra cotta for small devotional figurines and was a court sculptor for the final Hapsburg Spanish king – in the 1690s. Her work was sent to Mexico and England. So why don’t more of us know about her? – Hyperallergic