Category: visual

If adopted, the executive order would be the most significant attempt yet to insert the new politics of populism into the world of art, aesthetics and design. – Washington Post

The one part of the art world that has seemed resistant to him is the ultimate conferrer of status: museums. Will he be remembered as an important artistic figure? And if so, will that be as a painter, an activist, or a Duchamp-like “conceptual prankster”? – The New York Times

“After a tumultuous period in Hong Kong marked by continuing protests and fears of a coronavirus outbreak, Art Basel has called off its fair in the city. … MCH Group, the holding company that owns Art Basel, said that the coronavirus and ‘severe logistical challenges’ limiting travel were among the ‘numerous factors’ that had influenced the decision. The ongoing protests were not mentioned in the release.” – ARTnews

“The AIA strongly opposes uniform style mandates for federal #architecture. Architecture should be designed for the specific communities that it serves, reflecting our rich nation’s diverse places, thought, culture, and climates. Architects are committed to honoring our past as well as reflecting our future progress, protecting the freedom of thought and expression that are essential to democracy.”  – The Architect’s Newspaper

In a seven-page draft executive order obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, Trump declares that the federal government since the 1950s has “largely stopped building beautiful buildings that the American people want to look at or work in.” Future federal government buildings, he decrees, should look like those of ancient Rome, Greece and Europe. “Classical architectural style shall be the preferred and default style,” he states. Trump’s draft order is titled — get ready for it — “Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again.” – Chicago Sun-Times

The sale, dubbed Christie’s 100, featured 92 lots by many well-known contemporary artists, with bids starting at as low as $100. Certain works even sold for considerably less than the average New Yorker’s monthly rent, including a Louise Lawler print for $1,000, and a John Bock work on paper for $750. In all, 96 percent of the works found buyers and the sale pulled in $347,375. – Artnet

On Sunday, full-page ads appeared in both the New York and Los Angeles Times with the slogan “saveLACMA FROM TANKING.” – Hyperallergic

Dead mud wasps, in fact. The ancient artists who painted the Gwion figures in Western Australia’s Kimberley region used iron oxide pigments, which have no organic material and can’t be carbon-dated. But the remains of mud wasp nests stuck to the paintings can be carbon-dated, and researcher Damien Finch has used them to determine that the Gwion paintings are roughly 12,000 years old. – BBC

“Where did all this art come from? How is it that a city where beauty and color have been largely suppressed for decades by poverty, and by the oppression or indifference of successive governments, suddenly came to be so alive?” – The New York Times

For decades, Tony Cerda Park in Pomona was desolate, dilapidated, and dangerous. Last summer, artist Joe Ded painted a mural to honor the park’s namesake, a longtime leader of local Native Americans. People began using the park again, and the city started paying attention to it. Then some of the local Native Americans got a look at the mural, and they were not happy. – Los Angeles Times