The Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art is now seen by many in Poland’s contemporary art community as a new front in the country’s culture wars, as the ruling Law and Justice party attempts to exert greater control over state-sponsored institutions and promote artists aligned with its patriotic, pro-family views. – The Art Newspaper
Category: visual
Steve Bannon Wants To Set Up National Bootcamp In Ancient Italian Monastery. The Ministry Of Culture Is Trying To Block Him
The Dignitatis Humanae Institute (DHI), a Catholic lobby group run by the British conservative Benjamin Harnwell, was granted a 19-year lease on the building by the ministry of culture two years ago as part of an initiative to involve the private sector in the management of abandoned or dilapidated cultural sites in Italy. But after Bannon and Harnwell announced plans to use the medieval monastery to establish an Academy for the Judeo-Christian West to teach budding nationalists subjects such as politics, theology, philosophy and history, the culture ministry changed its mind. – The Art Newspaper
Philadelphia Museum Of Art Retail Exec Abused And Hit Staffers For Two Years Before He Was Fired
“After [James A.] Cincotta was hired as the museum’s retail director in 2015, staffers who worked for him began reporting what they said was routinely abusive behavior. Cincotta slapped, punched, pinched, shoved, grabbed, and verbally berated workers, according to interviews with 14 current and former museum employees.” The museum investigated complaints against him in 2016, but he was not dismissed until 2018. – The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Globally Networked Museum – Could It Be The Museum Model For The 21st Century?
Greece and Britain have the opportunity to renew their respective stories by leading the way in creating a museum for the 21st century. How it would be organised would be open to discussions. But at a minimum, it would be a consortium of museums from around the world prepared to contribute works from their own collections to tell the story of human history. The exhibits would depict the way that past thought, religion, politics, art and history has formed a platform for each stage of human development. – The Guardian
Construction Of Trump’s Border Wall Is Endangering Ancient Heritage
“This turn of events has been both somehow shocking and predictable. In June of 2019, archaeologists surveyed some of the area awaiting construction, which would include replacing existing fencing erected under the Obama Administration with a 30-foot-tall steel palisade, roadwork, and surveillance equipment. The team spent five days walking just a portion of the construction area. ‘Numerous previously unrecorded archaeological resources were identified, plotted, and evaluated,’ the survey report summarised. ‘These include 35 isolated [artefacts], 20 isolated features, and five archaeological sites.’ ” – Apollo
Is It Possible To Enjoy The Instagram “Museum” Without Your Phone?
Specifically, the Ice Cream “Museum,” which is all about shareable selfies. After all, what’s the point of going if not to take appealing pictures? – New York Magazine
The Forger As Artist – A Superfan’s Show Of Work By Elmyr de Hory
In the 1950s and ’60s, Elmyr de Hory is believed to have forged over a thousand works by major artists. Many have been removed from museums. Others, some experts say, have not. Mark Forgy has spent years dedicated to the memory of de Hory. He has written a book, gives talks and contributes to exhibitions on forgery. It is his calling, he says, and has all led to his newest endeavor: putting on an exhibition of de Hory’s original work. No forgeries. Just de Hory in his own voice. – The New York Times
Los Angeles Gets Its First UNESCO World Heritage Site
And it’s Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House, almost destroyed in the 1940s. – Los Angeles Times
Art Literally Made Of Bones (And Other Human Remains)
The British got a lot wrong as the empire spread, and one facet of colonial mistakes was how to look at Tibetan religious and art objects made of skulls or thighbones. “To British colonial officials and missionaries in the 19th and early 20th centuries, such items were morbid examples of devil worship. To Tibetans they were objects used to celebrate life.” – The Guardian (UK)
The Scottish Artist Who Brought Oz To Life
Sound stages of the 1930s and 1940s needed lots of stage sets, and at MGM, George Gibson was the man in charge. “The backdrops he created appeared in films such as The Wizard of Oz (1939), An American in Paris (1951) and Brigadoon (1954). His backdrops were as large as 60ft x 150ft (18m by 45m) and so realistic that the audience often did not realise the setting was a soundstage.” – BBC